President of the Republic of Ghana, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has condemned persons stigmatizing COVID-19 patients in the country.
Delivering a nation address on Sunday, April, 19, 2020, President Akufo-Addo noted with deep concern the attitude of some communities treating people infected by the Coronavirus with contempt.
A father of four named Frederick Drah who recovered from the novel coronavirus infection reportedly faced this problem in his community at Mataheko, near Afienya.
Giving an account of how his community was treating him following his full recovery, Mr. Drah reportedly stated that he longs for the days he was at the treatment centre at the Ga East Municipal Hospital where he was discharged.
“I even wish, maybe, I could go back to the [quarantine] camp again,” he lamented in an interview with Citi News.
There have been other reports of people placed under quarantine or in isolation centers due to the transmission of the virus who when fully recovered or test negative for the virus and allowed to go home are confronted by the challenge of stigmatization.
Adressing the issue, President Nana Akufo-Addo emphasized that the ''stigmatization of recovered persons must stop''.
''I have noticed, with great concern, the stories of some persons, who have recovered from the virus, now being confronted with another problem, i.e. stigmatization. This is not right, as it will rather drive people away from getting screened, tested and treated. The stigmatization of recovered persons must stop, because if the virus did not end their lives and livelihoods, the stigma from members of their communities should not'', he stressed.
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