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The Asante-Akim South Municipal Public Health Emergency Management Committee has issued an alert on a possible outbreak of COVID-19 in the Municipality after recording its first case, on Friday.

The alert, which is urging all persons who may have come into contact with the patient who had since died, to report to health authorities, forms part of measures to prevent the spread of the disease in the municipality.

It follows the death of Nana Osei Boansi Kuffuor, the Oyokohene of Juaso who died at the Ridge Hospital in Accra after testing positive for the novel virus.

Prior to the death of the Oyokohene, he had spent some days at Juaso after returning from the United Kingdom before showing symptoms of the disease.

This informed the decision of the Committee to issue the alert after his demise and commence contact-tracing protocols to contain a possible spread in the community and beyond.

Mr. Alexander Frimpong, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) who chairs the committee, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that about 40 persons who had been reached through contact-tracing were cooperating.

He said health officials had taken their details and would continue to monitor them closely at least for the next two weeks to determine whether they were infected or not.

“ We have directed all assembly members to make announcements in their localities for people who may come close to the case prior to his death to report to health authorities for them to be added to the contact-tracing list”, the MCE stated.

He said the assembly in collaboration with the Municipal Health Directorate had secured a holding centre where suspected cases would be kept before the rapid response team takes over.

The committee had also stepped up public education through community information centres and mobile vans with focus on safety precautions.

Mr. Frimpong called for calm as authorities take the necessary steps to contain any outbreak and urged the people to observe all the preventive protocols for their own safety.