None Of Our Staff Has Been Quarantined – Accountant General Urges Public To Disregard Reports

The Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) has debunked social media reports purporting that one of its staff has been quarantined upon arrival from Italy in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Viral reports on social media claimed that a staff member of the CAGD who returned to Ghana from Italy had been quarantined as part of precautionary measures instituted by the government to prevent the disease from spreading.

Refuting the report, the CAGD, in a statement signed by the Acting Controller and Accountant General, Mr Kwasi Kwaning-Bosompem stated categorically that “no such incident has occurred at the Head Office and all CAGD Regional Offices.”

It urged the public to disregard the news as it was false.

“It has come to the notice of Management of the Controller and Accountant-General's Department (CAGD), a news item circulating on social media about a staff who has been quarantined upon arrival from Italy.

“Management wishes to state that no such incident has occurred at the Head Office and all CAGD Regional Offices and that the general public should disregard this information,” the statement said.

The CAGD further indicated that it had made preparations for the payment of March salaries and assured that Government workers will receive their salaries on the scheduled pay date.

Fake news
As cases of the coronavirus increase around the world, there's been a flurry of misleading or false news stories emerging particularly on social media.

Recently, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) cautioned against the spread of false information about the disease, stressing that such practices could undermine efforts to contain the pandemic.

“To the creators of such falsehoods, we offer a simple message: STOP. Sharing inaccurate information and attempting to imbue it with authority by misappropriating the names of those in a position of trust is dangerous and wrong,” it cautioned in a statement.

Similarly, the President of the Ghana Journalists Association, Mr Affail Monney has urged journalists to desist from spreading false information about the disease and endeavour to fact-check every detail before publication.

Cases in Ghana
So far, six cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the country, all of which are “imported cases”

The government has since moved to forestall further spread of the virus by implementing stringent travel and movement restrictions.

President Akufo-Addo on Sunday announced a number of measures, including a month-long suspension of schools and social gatherings including church services as part of efforts to contain the outbreak.

The disease has killed more than 5,000 people worldwide and continues to spread into many more countries.

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