The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has said that 38 out of its 450 staff have tested positive for COVID-19.
According to a statement signed by the Head of Communication and Public Education of the Authority, James Lartey, the needed logistics had been made available to all the affected workers. Also, people who are close to the infected workers have been given the required provisions to go into self-quarantine.
The statement said: “Currently, 38 of the staff have recovered while one is responding to treatment.”
The statement made it clear that, the Chief Executive Officer of the Authority, all top management officials at the Head Office, the Tema Office, Kotoka International Airport Office and the Laboratory Unit including 450 staff of the FDA were mandatorily tested for COVID-19. It was after this that the infected personnel were discovered.
As a result, the Authority has entreated its clients to make use of its online platforms and prevent approaching its offices.
“In view of this we urge our clients to continue to send in their application and forms via email addresses instead of coming to the office.”
However, the Authority indicated that, its website is currently being upgraded to make it fluid for clients to submit some specific forms and applications.
The Authority also said that, since March, this year, only 25 percent of its staff has been working in its offices. The rest, according to the FDA have been working from home. In addition to that, the Authority said it had instituted a shift system to further reduce the numbers at any given time in the office.
The statement said every two weeks, offices of the Authority were fumigated in addition to ensuring strict compliance with Covid-19 safety protocols.
The number of Governmental bodies that are either shutting down or cutting down the number of personnel at their work places are increasing by the day.
The Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST) and the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) last week announced the closure of their head offices in Accra, to ensure the safety of their staff against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
This was after some staff of the two state owned institutions tested positive of the coronavirus following a mass testing exercise carried out by management.
About 46 out of the 162 members of staff at the Information Technology (IT) department at the head office of BOST at Dzorwulu in the Ayawaso West Municipality, Accra, representing 28.4 per cent tested positive for the disease.
COCOBOD, however, closed down its head office for a fumigation exercise to be conducted from today, July 8, 2020, to Friday, July 10, 2020.
According to a press release from COCOBOD on Monday, July 6, 2020, the closure “has become necessary due to the mass testing the organisation is currently undertaking which has resulted in some staff members testing positive for COVID-19.”
Around the same time, the Minister for Education came out to say he was recovering from the virus and that about 90 per cent of the staff at the Ministry had also tested positive. The Ministry of Finance has been described as a “ghost town” as its workers have been instructed to work from home. An employee of Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCO) also tested positive some days ago.
With the number of cases rising daily in the country, government’s policy direction will determine whether the deadly virus is curtailed or festers.
