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The Korle Klottey Municipal Assembly (KoKMA) has inaugurated a 20-bed isolation centre for the Adabraka Polyclinic to boost their capacity to hold suspected patients of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The facility is made up of two wards of 10 beds each and has two consulting rooms and washrooms attached to each ward.

It was constructed and furnished within a period of two weeks at the cost of GH¢342,162.99.

Previously, the facility was an open shed structure constructed in 2014 to serve as an isolation bay during a cholera epidemic in that year.

Reason for the facility

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony in Accra yesterday, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of the assembly, Mr Samuel Nii Adjei Tawiah, explained that the provision of the facility was part of the assembly’s commitment to ensure the safety of people during the pandemic.

“The assembly’s swift response to convert an existing open shed into a 20-bed isolation centre for coronavirus positive patients was borne out of our sensitivity towards the health and safety of the people,” he said.

He added that the move was also to ensure that health practitioners were able to operate within the best environment in managing the global pandemic.

Isolation centre

The Head of the Adabraka Polyclinic, Dr Abdul Razak Quao, thanked the assembly for their commitment to complete the project and assured them that the facility would be used for its intended purpose.

“This isolation centre would be used to hold our suspected COVID-19 cases as they wait for their results so as to prevent them from going back to the communities to possibly infect others,” he said.

The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr Ishmael Ashitey, also commended the assembly and encouraged other assemblies to contribute in their own way to support the fight against COVID-19.

Touching on the mandatory wearing of nose masks, he urged the public to wear the masks, noting that he had directed the assemblies to provide masks for people who could not afford them.

Provide PPE

The Member of Parliament for Korle Klottey constituency in Accra, Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, also commended the assembly and health officials for working together to complete the project.

She, however, called on the assembly to adequately equip the healthcare officials with the necessary PPE to keep them safe.