Eighty-four fishermen who returned to the Central Region from their fishing expedition to Cote d’Ivoire have been put under quarantine for two weeks.
Health authorities there say the move is to satisfy laid down protocols that all who enter the country’s borders should be quarantined to ascertain their coronavirus status.
The Central Regional Director of Health, Dr Akosua Owusu-Sarpong disclosed this to the Central Regional Minister at a briefing in Cape Coast to assess the region’s response to the COVID 19 pandemic.
Dr Owusu-Sarpong said all quarantined persons are been held in secured locations and they are regularly updated on their status and also provided the required attention.
She said, so far a total of 155 out of 273 samples sent for testing from the region came back negative while the results for the rest are pending.
Dr. Owusu-Sarpong said the Central Region currently has one confirmed case of COVID-19. However, she said another confirmed case which was recorded in the Greater Accra Region but lives in the Central Region has been treated.
Meanwhile, the Western Regional Command of Marine Police has directed 10 fishermen to self-quarantine after they used their boat to ferry people from Cote d’Ivoire.
The Marine police intercepted a canoe loaded with 10 fishermen, who claimed they were returning from a fishing expedition but had no fish in their canoe.
The canoe, arrived at Nhyeresia in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis in the early hours of Monday with 10 people who claimed they were Ghanaian fishermen from the said community.
They told the police they were fishing in Half Assini but drifted into Cote d’Ivoire waters but did not berth there and though the police and the medical team did not doubt them, they were however told to be subjected to the COVID-19 safety protocols, which required the mandatory quarantine.
The occupants were then screened by the Metropolitan COVID-19 medical team and the chief fisherman of the community provided residential facility to enable them to begin the mandatory 14-day quarantine, subject to further testing.
An informant explained to the Daily Graphic that the 10 fishermen were all indigenes of the community who claimed they went to Cote d’Ivoire to work and were returning home.
For his part, the Regional Marine Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Seidu Iddi said the unit has taken some proactive steps to ensure the fishermen did not take undue advantage, explaining that before and after the closure of the borders they met with leaders in the fishing communities, chief fishermen and other leaders to educate them on the importance and the dangers of using their canoe to move passengers into the country.
