Actress, Yvonne Nelson says Ghana is not ready for the novel coronavirus which has already killed a number of people since the outbreak in December last year.
She said after checking about twenty pharmacies in search of a face mask, the search proved futile.
According to her, a renowned pharmacy gave her construction mask instead of what she went looking for.
This comes off the back of the general fear that Ghana is susceptible to the deadly disease that has claimed many lives and continue to spread into other parts of the world since the first case was recorded in China, Wuhan.
Ghana is among the 13 priority countries in Africa marked as being at high risk of getting the virus because of their established links with China.
Ghanaians are on the alert after the first case was recorded in Nigeria last week.
Some people have started practising precautionary measures including getting hand sanitizers and face masks.
And in Yvonne’s case, she went looking for a face mask and found out Ghana is the least prepared.
“Ghana!!! What a joke! Ive checked more than 20 pharmacies today for face masks and you wont believe one top pharmacy on the east legon main road brought out a construction mask! Charley we arent ready as a country at all” she tweeted.
Ghana!!! What a joke! Ive checked more than 20 pharmacies today for face masks and you wont believe one top pharmacy on the east legon main road brought out a construction mask! Charley we arent ready as a country at all. 🥺🇬🇭💔
— 𝓨𝓿𝓸𝓷𝓷𝓮 𝓝𝓮𝓵𝓼𝓸𝓷 (@yvonnenelsongh) February 28, 2020
The novel Corona Virus which is also called COVID- 19 according to CNN, “has killed over 3,000 people worldwide, the vast majority in mainland China. There have been more than 88,000 global cases, with infections on every continent except Antarctica” (updated number as at the filing of this story).
It was first detected in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 and has spread to other parts of the world.
The COVID-19 is caused by a member of the coronavirus family but this has never been encountered before and that is why it is called ‘novel’.
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV).
Coronaviruses are zoonotic which means they are transmitted between animals and people.
Many of the first cases in recorded in China are either linked to working or frequently shopping in the Huanan seafood wholesale market in the centre of Wuhan.
According to WHO, common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties.
The virus can also cause pneumonia in severe cases and even organ failure.
The novel coronavirus is airborne and symptoms begin to manifest after 14 days. An infected person could transmit the disease before symptoms begin to manifest.
The virus is spread mainly through close contact of 6 feet with the infected through respiratory droplets, coughs or sneezes.
The Ghana Health Service has given tips on how to protect oneself. Take note:
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By: Hajia Lamy Gates |ghanaweekend.com
