‘I don’t even know how I got the virus’ – NAPO recounts Covid-19 experience

On Tuesday, I woke up with my regular schedule in mind, to go to work, chair meetings after meetings, but that was not the case, Education Minister said.

“I don’t even know how I got the virus. If somebody should tell you he knows how he got the infection he is lying.

“And on Friday, a day to the acclamation, I met just 32 people and we did not spend more than 30 minutes there but here I am, Matthew Opoku Prempeh said.

Sharing a riveting account of his COVID-19 experience on Peace FM monitored by theghanareport.com, he said he started feeling feverish, a week to the president’s acclamation day.

‘Here I was, at the Jubilee House Hospital, not sure if it was the dreaded coronavirus, a simple malaria or dry cough’, he narrated.

According to the minister, the first test he did at the Jubilee House came out negative.

Having received the negative results, the minister said he went on his rounds hale and hearty till Friday when he started feeling pains again.

He continued with the medication that was given to him at the hospital.

But news of his uncle testing positive sent ‘coronavirus shocks’ down his spine.

“When I decided to come back on Sunday, I was told one of my relatives in Kumasi had tested positive for the virus and they are taking the person to the University of Ghana Medical Centre.

“I accompanied them to the hospital,” he narrated. “But little did I know there was no return for me.”

“I just accompanied my uncle to the hospital but was told by the doctors that once I am here I should do another test since I was not feeling well,” he narrated.

Napo said the results of the second tests revealed that there was some anomaly with his heart so he should stay on at the hospital.

“I just came to accompany my relative and then you tell me to come back to the hospital.

“I came back home and packed my things and went back to UGMC. I was there with my uncle…so days after my results came positive,” he sighed.

Dr Opoku Prempeh said they both spent 14 days at the centre.

Asking if he was scared during this period, taking a pause, he replied ‘not really.’

“When I went there on Monday, I was scared. The first three days were really scary but having survived for three days, I knew I will survive what will come,” he stated.

Having lived through the experience and the pain, he advised the general public to take the virus seriously and not make a joke out of it.

“COVID-19 is a very bad infection,” he said.

Adhering to all the safety protocols advised by the health ministry is one sure way of staying alive, he noted.

The sector minister then threw a word of caution to critics who think the coronavirus is immune to them.

He said the virus is not something to rejoice in. Having survived, he said,” God has given me another chance, what about you.”

“Nobody should hide behind social media and send negative stuff about an infected person. People are dying, some are in coma and you sit behind social media and do things,” he noted.

He made reference to an incident in the hospital where a white man wept bitterly for having tested positive for the virus.

“A white man has had it three times in a roll. He was crying when he said it. So if you think you can wake up in the morning and go to radio stations and pour out negativity.

“You sit on radio and give a roll call of people who have the virus, then what…?” he quizzed.

“Some have tested positive for six weeks continuous and every time it comes out positive,” he added.