The Ghanaian press on Thursday focuses on the casual workers laid off at Tamale Teaching Hospital in the Northern Region as a result of the outbreak of coronavirus, public warning that Covid-19 is real and the challenge at the blood banks in Ghana.
The Ghanaian Times reports that 143 casual workers at the Tamale Teaching Hospital have been temporarily laid off due to resource constraints occasioned by the novel coronavirus outbreak in the country.
It added that the Deputy Health Minister designate, Dr. Bernard Oko Boye, has warned the general public that Covid-19 disease is real and that it was high time Ghanaians took the disease serious and followed the prevention protocols to stop the spread chain of the deadly virus.
Dr. Oko Boye said at the Appointment Committee of the Parliament during his vetting that coronavirus reality dawned on him when his close friend became a victim.
On the other hand, the Daily Graphic reported that the National Blood Service, NBS, is in dire need of blood to save lives of patients on emergency care, who require blood transfusion to survive, adding that the service has therefore sent a distress call to all members of the public and organizations to voluntarily donate blood to the blood banks in the regions to give lifeline to people who need it to live.
It said the call was made by the Chief Executive Officer of the NBS, Dr. Justina Kordai Ansah, who made it clear that the outbreak of the coronavirus has had telling effects on NBS with respect to maintaining blood supplies. She explained that more than 50 percent of donors are from educational institutions, which have been closed down due to Covid-19 disease outbreak.
The Ghanaian Times reported in its political page that former President John Dramani Mahama has distributed food items to 20,000 households in lockdown areas in Accra as part of his contribution to cushion the effect of the pandemic on the vulnerable in the society.
DAP/GIK/APA