Education Minister Opoku Prempeh discharged from hospital with a positive COVID-19 test

The Minister of Education, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh has been discharged from hospital after testing positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The development is in line with the new discharge protocol by the Ghana Health Service informed by the new World Health Organisation (WHO) Discharge Guideline.

Dr Opoku Prempeh was receiving treatment at the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) but has since been discharged.

In a press statement issued Wednesday, July 8, 2020, by his press secretary, Rodney Nkrumah-Boateng, Dr Opoku Prempeh explained that he was discharged from the UGMC “with a positive rapid antibody test result and will be further monitored.”

He explained he was currently at “home resting and would like to thank all those who wished him well during his time in hospital.”

Dr Opoku Prempeh’s discharge from the hospital is in line with the new discharge protocol by the Ghana Health Service informed by the new World Health Organisation (WHO) Discharge Guideline.

If a person remains without symptoms [asymptomatic] for 14 days (10 days for WHO) from day of test, he/she is discharged from isolation (de-isolation).

They may remain positive for several weeks but new evidence shows they do not pose an infectious risk to the general population.

According to the Ghana Health Service (GHS), if they presented with symptoms, then they are discharged from isolation 14 days (10 for WHO) of symptom onset plus 3 days without symptoms.

Persons with mild infection (ie mild or no symptoms) may continue shedding the virus but shedding does not equate infectiousness.

A negative or repeat test is no longer necessary for de-isolation, according to the GHS.

Source: graphic.com