FILE PHOTO: A health worker checks the temperature of a traveller as part of the coronavirus screening procedure at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana January 30, 2020. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko/File Photo
There has been a significant surge in Covid-19 cases in Ghana this month, putting the country on the path to its fifth wave since the outbreak in March 2020.
In March 2022, President Nana Akufo-Addo lifted most of the Covid-19 restrictions.
The Executive Instrument was revoked, allowing all land and sea borders to be re-opened.
The wearing of facemasks, a major intervention in curtailing the spread of Sars-Cov-2 (the virus which causes Covid-19), was also relaxed, making the wearing of face coverings no longer mandatory.
All in-person activities, including religious gatherings, conferences, workshops, and funerals, could now resume at full capacity, as long as the audience and participants are fully vaccinated, but hand washing and hand sanitising points were still to be made available, President Akufo-Addo said in his 28th address to the nation on the pandemic.
Cases were low around the country with a single case of Covid-19 reported on the 17th of April, an active case of just 26 and no hospitalisation at all.
Today, active cases have crossed the 1,000 infections mark with 120 persons contracting the disease in one day, data from the Ghana Health Service shows.
There’s still no Covid-19 related death this year. But the hospitals are getting filled up.
For most of March and April 2022, severe and critical cases were zero, while symptomatic cases were completely down.
But the latest report shows as many as 13 persons are with severe COVID, whilst one more person is in critical condition.
Meanwhile, government is also nowhere near its target of vaccinating 23 million Ghanaians.
Greater Accra Region remains the hotspot, with most of the 141 cases recorded on 13th June (98), coming from the districts.
Korle Klottey (59), Accra (21), Ayawaso West (8) etc. The Ashanti Region is also emerging as the second hotspot, with 35 of the day’s cases.
Ghana revised its vaccination target from 20 million to 22.9 million when the vaccination policy was revised to include pregnant women and 15-18 year olds.
Some 16.4 million have so far been administered, with only 6.9m (21.4%) of the population fully vaccinated.
Vice Chancellor of the University of Allied Health has already signaled, the situation would get worse unless an aggressive testing is carried out.
So far testing is at one of its lowest since the outbreak of Covid-19 in Ghana, in March 2020.
Testing is on the rise, but very slowly, with seven-day moving average just around 2020 figures of 1,000 tests per day.
In 2021, tests per day reached highs of 5,000 per day, data from the Ghana Health Service shows.
SOURCE: Fred Smith
