Mr Fredrick Drah, a married man with four children and a survivor of COVID-19, says he will not wish his experience with the disease on anybody.
Recounting his experience to the media on Thursday, April 16, Mr Drah said he fell ill on March 17 and decided to get tested for COVID-19, the highly infectious respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus.
The test came back positive and Mr Drah was taken to a specialised facility at GA East to receive medical care. He remained at an isolation ward until last week when he was discharged following his recovery from COVID-19.
Mr Drah revealed that he was given very good treatment by Doctors and Nurses at the Ga East Hospital until he was finally declared free from the deadly COVID-19.
However, Mr Drah reveals that returning home has been even painful than when he suffered from the killer disease. According to him, he and his family have been seriously stigmatised by neighbours and other residents in his community.
He reveals that shop attendants have even refused to sell foodstuff to his wife while barbers fail to attend to him for fear of contracting the virus.
“Whenever my wife goes out to buy something from the stores around us, the stores refuse to sell to them. In some circumstances, even though they have a particular item, they will not sell it with the excuse they don’t have it,” Mr Drah said.
He added that children in their neighbourhood have even failed to get in touch with his children even though every member of his family tested negative. He pleaded with Ghanaians, not to stigmatise people who have recovered from the coronavirus and rather be welcoming to such persons.
He also advised people to obey the lockdown directives and adhere to the washing of hands and the use of sanitisers to keep safe from the killer bug.
“Coronavirus is real, it is real so please stay at home and obey the lockdown, wash your hands and use your sanitisers. I have survived but maybe you will not so please obey the directives and keep yourself safe,” he said.
Ghana has so far recorded 641 COVID-19 cases with eight deaths. However, 83 people have recovered from the virus after twice testing negative and have returned to their normal lives.
Credit: Starrfm.com.gh