We’ve Not Created A Vaccine For Coronavirus – KNUST

By Justice Dzido On Jan 29, 2020

The management of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has described as false reports indicating that some students of the University have created a vaccine for the deadly and fast-spreading coronavirus.

The reports claimed an eight-member team, made up of students, worked on the vaccine supervised by one Professor Dr Israel Nluki.

However responding to this in a statement signed by the Public Affairs Directorate said the University has no association with the said professor.

“We wish to state that, the person alleged to have supervised the purported project (Professor Dr. Israel Nluki) has no affiliations with KNUST. Management thus urges the public to disregard such publication,” the statement read.

Death Toll

The death toll from the new coronavirus now stands at 106, as cases of new infections have almost doubled in a day, Chinese authorities said.

The number of total confirmed cases in China rose to 4,515 as of 27 January, up from 2,835 a day earlier.

Travel restrictions have been tightened and wearing masks in public is now mandatory in some cities.

The city of Wuhan is at the epicentre of the outbreak but it has spread across China and internationally.

Wuhan, and the Hubei province it is located in, are already effectively in a lockdown with transport restrictions in and out of the area.

On Monday, authorities in Beijing confirmed a 50-year-old man had died – the first fatality in the Chinese capital from the virus.

Stricter travel screening

Following an earlier statement that all passengers from China must mandatorily fill health declaration forms, the Ministry of Health has now enhanced the process by applying it to all international arrivals at the Terminal 3 of the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).

“Screening for fever using the walk-through thermometers and non-contact thermometers are ongoing at KIA and other points of entry. Efforts are underway to ensure that all points of entry have non-contact thermometers,” the Ministry added.

Meanwhile, the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIR) has indicated that it has the capacity to diagnose coronavirus infection and has since been designated as the laboratory for investigating the virus.