Covid-19: Patient at Accra Psychiatric Hospital tests Positive, 110 Quarantined

Persons quarantined includes 11 people who shared the same ward with the confirmed covid-19 patient

Covid-19: Patient at Accra Psychiatric Hospital tests Positive, 110 Quarantined

About 110 people including staff of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, have been mandatorily quarantined after a patient tested positive for the coronavirus disease (covid-19) at the facility.

Director of Mental Health Authority, Dr Akwasi Osei in an interview with Accra based Joy News said the 110 persons quarantined also includes 11 people who shared the same ward with the confirmed covid-19 patient, a number of staff and people who were discovered in the hospital.

“Right now, the ward itself has been declared as an isolation ward, so we can’t admit any patient there. But for the staff, they have been asked to mandatorily self-isolate until their results are in,” he stated.

The hospital admitted the patient, a mentally challenged woman, on April 20, 2020, and she developed symptoms a few days later. She was later tested for COVID-19 and transferred to an isolation unit on April 23. On April 27, her test results confirmed positive for the virulent disease.

 

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Dr Kwasi Osei revealed that administrators at the treatment centre were initially hesitant to admit the patient and it took the intervention of the Health Ministry for her to be admitted for treatment.

“Even though we had the approval of the Municipal Health Directorate, they said no, because the patient is a psychiatric patient and they cannot handle her.

“But this is purely out of discrimination because, every health specialist has been given at least some basic training in mental health care.”

The Director then called on the general public to change their attitude towards people who are mentally ill.