The Keta Municipal Assembly says it is considering court action against Panophin Company; owners of a Korean fishing vessel, known as Sankofa, for ‘dumping’ a man suspected to be ill of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic within the municipality while at sea.
The victim, a 41-year old man, who is a resident of Tema, was said to have been aboard the fishing vessel for 37 days as a cook but was ditched by the crew and handed over to local fishermen from the Keta municipality at sea after a heated argument with his boss on Thursday 2 April 2020.
Upon arriving ashore, the victim was said to have shown symptoms of the deadly novel coronavirus and was put under quarantine, while a blood sample of him was taken to Accra for testing.
Five other local fishermen who came into contact with him were also directed to self-quarantine.
Though the test results turned out negative at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, close sources at the Assembly say the decision to dump the man at sea within its territories; a situation that created fear and panic among residents of the municipality is wrong.
The fishing vessel belonging to the Panophin Company located in Tema Community 2 GBC, was said to have 35 other Ghanaians, a Chinese and a Korean aboard.
Despite the results, the victim is still kept under a 14-day mandatory quarantine which is yet be completed.
Source: Ghana | Starrfm.com.gh | Faisel Abdul-Iddrisu
