As part of steps to support the government in the management of COVID-19, the Ghana Australia Alumni Association and the Australian High Commission on Wednesday presented medical supplies and food items to the Ga East Municipal Hospital.

They also presented a cheque for GH¢10,000.00 to the facility.
The items valued at GH¢53,000.00 included protective masks, stainless steel step bins, gowns, infrared thermometer guns, hand sanitizers, bags of local rice, and packs of bottled water.

Mr Andrew Barnes, the Australian High Commissioner to Ghana, commended the Government and the citizenry for working together to contain the COVID-19, saying 'how the citizenry is adhering to the safety protocols is commendable'.

He also encouraged health workers at the forefront of COVID-19 fight, to continue to deliver the best they could to save patients of the respiratory disease.

Mr Barnes lauded the Association for its compassion exhibited towards the development of the nation and its people.
Mr Ohene Damptey, President of the Ghana Australia Alumni Association, said globally, the world had adopted strategies to manage the COVID-19 pandemic with interventions such as the closure of borders, enhanced contact tracing, testing, and treatment, as well as adoption of safety protocols among others.

In all these, he said, the provision of logistical support to designated health treatment centres was at the heart of the management to offer good results.
As the number of confirmed cases increased, Mr Damptey said pressure on health facilities on protecting their patients and staff was expected.

It was for this reason that the 180-member Association partnered the High Commission to support the Hospital which housed many of COVID-19 patients.
"I believe the items will encourage the hospital to cater for the increasing needs of their clients," he said.

Dr Ebenezer Oduro-Mensah, Medical Superintendent of the Hospital, thanked the donors on behalf of the management, staff, and patients.
He said the management of COVID-19 depended on every individual and not just government and health personnel.

"The numbers are going up and it scares people but it is probably because most people are hiding after being tested, which is not helping," he noted.
The Ga East Municipal Hospital, he said, had admitted 420 COVID-19 patients so far and discharged 370 of them after recovery.

Dr Oduro-Mensah appealed to corporate entities to contribute to the COVID-19 'Private Sector Fund' to enable them to complete the 100-bed capacity isolation and treatment centre they are constructing at the hospital.

He also encouraged members of the public to support other treatment centres across the country, to enable them to save more lives.