The Korean government, through the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), has donated COVID-19 laboratory test kits and other equipment to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Accra to help the ongoing fight against the pandemic.
The donation, which is about 63,000 PCR diagnostic test kits and other equipment, is expected to further strengthen the healthcare sector’s capacity in the fight against COVID-19 through testing to reduce the risk of infection.
The Ambassador of Korea to Ghana, LIM Jung-taek, who led the team to do the donation said the government of Korea aims to continuously tailor its support to the needs of Ghana, especially when most of the restrictions have been reduced.
He added that he is hopeful the equipment donated will help in detecting even new variants that will emerge in the future. Mr. Jung-taek applauded Ghana for its commitment to the fight against the pandemic which has resulted in a sharp decline in active cases.
The Minister for Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, who received the items, thanked the ambassador and the team from KOICA for their kind gesture.
Dr. Agyeman-Manu cautioned the general public against the disregard for mask wearing after the announcement was made by the President that it is no more mandatory, saying it is very necessary to have the mask on at public gatherings, especially, when many people have not been vaccinated.
“What we have noticed is that people have stopped wearing the nose mask. We have managed to bring the pandemic to the minimum because of protocols we introduced, including vaccination, and it is the sure best. You have to put on the mask in-doors and if you are not vaccinated too you have to wear the mask,” he advised.
According to him, the nation has come far in the fight against the virus, hence, the need for all to continuously play an important role to come out from it totally, adding that it has cost the nation a lot.
He called on all Ghanaians to take part in the ongoing vaccination exercise to help conquer the virus, saying that: “The bottom line is that we all must make sure we get vaccinated, the two doses plus a booster will give us some comfort. We have stocks and we have people who have been deployed into the areas and are vaccinating. Each one of us should be able to vaccinate without much problems.”
