Open AccessSARS-CoV-2 detection among international air travellers to Ghana during mandatory quarantine
Author(s) -
Bright Adu,
Joseph Kofi Bonney,
John Kofi Odoom,
Evelyn Yayra Bonney,
Evangeline Obodai,
Ivy A. Asante,
James Aboagye,
Mildred Adusei-Poku,
Lawrence Lartey,
Ernest Konadu Asiedu,
William Ampofo,
George B. Kyei
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
ghana medical journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2616-163X
pISSN - 0016-9560
DOI - 10.4314/gmj.v55i2s.7
Subject(s) - quarantine , medicine , covid-19 , pandemic , environmental health , virology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , disease , outbreak , pathology
Objectives: To determine the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 detection among international travellers to Ghana during mandatory quarantine.Design: A retrospective cross-sectional study.Setting: Air travellers to Ghana on 21st and 22nd March 2020.Participants: On 21st and 22nd March 2020, a total of 1,030 returning international travellers were mandatorily quarantined in 15 different hotels in Accra and tested for SARS-CoV-2. All of these persons were included in the study.Main outcome measure: Positivity for SARS-CoV-2 by polymerase chain reaction.Results: The initial testing at the beginning of quarantine found 79 (7.7%) individuals to be positive for SARS-CoV-2. In the exit screening after 12 to 13 days of quarantine, it was discovered that 26 of those who tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 in the initial screening subsequently tested positive.Conclusions: Ghana likely averted an early community spread of COVID-19 through the proactive approach to quarantine international travellers during the early phase of the pandemic.