Black Stars defender Lee Addy, 29 others leave for home after completing 14 days mandatory quarantine

Ghana defender and World Cup star Lee Addy, 18 other footballers and 11 other Ghanaian citizens who were quarantined at the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence, Prampram, after returning from Ethiopia, have completed the mandatory 14 days isolation period and have been released to join their families at home.

Addy and 18 other footballers were left stranded in Ethiopia after Ghana closed all boarders as a preventive measure against importation of the deadly coronavirus pandemic, but were rescued by being airlifted home by the government after a video went viral showing the stranded Ghanaians pleading to the government for help. The contingent of 30, comprising 19 footballers and 11 other citizens were flown to Ghana on Friday, 17th July, 2020. They were then moved to the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence, Prampram, Accra, where they have been in isolation for 14 days. The mandatory self isolation period ended on Friday, July 31, 2020 and the government has released them to join their families at home after all 30 persons tested negative for the said virus.

“The 14 days is due, everything is okay, we did the test two times and by God’s grace they’ve released us for everyone to go home. As I speak now everyone is at home in peace with their family”, Lee Addy confirmed to ghanasportspage.com. “Everyone tested negative in all the two tests that were carried and that was the reason why they released us all”, he confirmed.

While waiting for the mandatory 14 days to elapse, ghanasportspage.com gathered that the contingent were released to join their families at home 24 hours earlier, that was on Thursday, 30th July, 2020 which was the 13th day of their quarantined days. When confronted on the matter, Lee Addy explained that this was as a result of a plea by them to the authorities to spare them that one day since they had already tested negative, so they can use that day to travel, especially them Muslims among them, to enable them meet the Eid al-Adha celebrations.

“The truth is that the 14 days ended yesterday (Friday), but we appealed to the authorities that there a lot of Muslims among us who want to be part of the Sala, so they should please release us on Thursday because we had spent 13 out of the 14 days and the results of the test had been negative, and some will be traveling to Tamale and others so they will use that one day to travel. So they released us last Thursday and that enabled us all to celebrate the Sala at home and we are very happy”, Lee Addy explained.

On behalf the team, Addy expressed special gratitude to government, the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG), all journalists in the country and every individual who played a positive role to enable them come out of difficult times.