The chief executive officer of the National Health Insurance Authority, Dr Lydia Dsane-Selby, has tested positive for COVID-19, Asaaseradio.com can report.
Dr Dsane-Selby, who is currently in self-isolation, told Caroline Sampson that she got to know her status on Sunday. She was speaking in an interview on the Ten-To-One show on Asaase Radio 99.5 on Tuesday.
She said she has since reached out to all the people with whom she has had contact over the past couple of days. All of them have gone for tests but have tested negative.
Keep your distance at work
“I live with my mother and luckily she tested negative together with the house staff, so it’s just me in the house who is positive. So I immediately self-quarantined and contacted doctors at Korle-Bu and others who have put me on a treatment regime.
“I have contacted all those I came into contact with over the last few days and they’ve been for testing, and as far as I’m aware, they’re negative,” she said.
Dr Dsane-Selby said she had complied with all the COVID-19 protocols but the huge traffic of people at her office perhaps made leeway for the virus to creep in. She conceded that it is difficult for her to comply strictly with the guidelines when she is working at the NHIA.
‘’We all need to just be very aware about face masks, handwashing, sanitisers and social distancing,” she told Ten-To-One. “There is no meeting that is so important that we all have to bunch up in a room and meet. A lot of the stuff can be done via phone, via email, and we all just need to take those precautions.
“Obviously for me, living with my mother was my real concern. She is negative, so I need to just stay away from her until I’m negative, too,’’ she told Caroline Sampson.
Get ill, get better, move on
The NHIA boss said there was no point in stigmatising people who have contracted the virus. “People get malaria [and] get better, get typhoid [and] get better, and nobody talks about it,” she said.
“COVID is another illness, so you need to try not to get it, but if you have it, you follow the appropriate protocols, you get better and life goes on.”
She admonished Ghanaians in general to be mindful of what President Akufo-Addo has been saying about adhering to all the stipulated protocols.
Dr Dsane-Selby said the NHIA office has already been disinfected and that some staff have tested but their results are not yet known.
All NHIA staff have been advised to report immediately to the nearest health facility if they feel unwell.
Kennedy Mornah
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