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Ghana has so far tested 100 suspected cases of Ebola, but as of yesterday all of them had proved negative. The last case from the Ashanti Region proved negative at the reputable Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) in Accra. The Director of the National Ebola Control, Dr Bedu Sarkodie, who announced this in Kumasi, said, �God is a Ghanaian, and that is why he has given us ample time to prepare. He will not forgive Ghanaians if we are unable to deal decisively with the disease when it hits our shores.� Dr Sarkodie was briefing regional health directors and medical officers charged to deal with Ebola in the regions at an Ebola Emergency Response Planning workshop organised by the Local Government Service in Kumasi. He said the government had taken delivery of 9,000 pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) and would start distributing it by the middle of the week. He said the distribution would be done in the full glare of the media. Risk factors He explained that the risk factors in countries where the disease had claimed lives and affected thousands were the same in Ghana. Those factors included hunting and eating of bush meat, hunting and eating of bats and person-to-person contacts. Reacting to calls on the government to ban bush meat consumption, Dr Sarkodie indicated that although studies had shown that about 120,000 pieces of different types of bush meat were sold in just a 400-kilometre radius in the country, the ban would be premature. He advised those who dealt in bush meat to wear protective gloves and also ensure that the meat eaten was properly cooked. Dr Sarkodie appealed to Ghanaian hunters to be wary of dead or weak animals. Regional Minister The Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Sarpong, who opened the workshop, said the region had intensified efforts aimed at establishing and operationalising isolation centres at vantage points to handle any eventuality should there be one. He commended the Heritage Transport Union and the Agricultural Inputs/Chemical Importers and Dealers Association for supporting the regional Ebola response initiative with a knapsack sprayer, gloves, wellington boots and rain jackets, among other items.