UN office in Ghana shuts down after staff is infected with Coronavirus

The United Nations (UN) has confirmed that it has shut down one of its offices in Ghana following a staff member testing positive for the novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Ghana last Thursday.

It confirmed that one of the two cases of COVID-19 announced by the Ghana government on Thursday, March 12, 2020, was a UN staff member who worked in one of the UN buildings up until the morning of March 12.

Consequently, the UN has said to ensure the safety of all staff in that building and the continuation of its work for sustainable development, the United Nations in Ghana has decided, as a precautionary measure, that staff on those premises should work from home.

“This measure is taken temporarily, and decisions are taken in coordination with the national authorities,” the UN said in a press statement.

“This supports containment of COVID-19 and is in line with United Nations worldwide standard Business Continuity Procedures,” it added.

It however explained that other staff working in other UN entities’ premises continue working in the office normally.

Last Friday the Minister of Information, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah revealed that one of the confirmed Coronavirus cases in Ghana was a Ghanaian who returned to Ghana from Turkey.

He returned to Ghana on February 29, 2020 from travel in Turkey and started feeling ill two days before he tested positive.

Source: Graphic