Ghana has second highest covid cases in West and Central Africa combined - UNICEF
- Ghana has the highest cases of Covid-19 in West and Central Africa
- The country as at December 31 recorded over 51 confirmed cases
- Government of Ghana is intensifying surveillance to prevent the spread of a variant
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has ranked Ghana as the second country behind Nigeria to have the highest coronavirus cases in West and Central Africa combined.
As at the 31st of December, Ghana’s total confirmed coronavirus cases was 54,771. Already, government is racing to avert the importation of a deadlier and contagious Coronavirus.
The major task ahead for Ghana’s infectious disease center will be to trace and track if the new contagious variant of Covid-19 is in the country.
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This new variant of the deadly virus, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), is more contagious than the Coronavirus the world is battling.
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Already, South Africa has been the first African country to record a case of this new strain of the virus. Nigeria is the latest to have recorded its first case.
Speaking on CitiFM on Ghana’s preparedness, Director of Public Health at the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe, revealed that aggressive testing is currently underway to determine whether Ghana has any case.
He believes any case will be readily monitored and tracked especially when Ghana has one of the best test and trace regimes in Africa.
Meanwhile, Ghana is expected to roll out a mass vaccination program against Covid-19 in June of 2021. Medical experts revealed on Joy News’ Newsfile program that the ministry of health is currently in the procurement stage of millions of doses.
Even though Ghana has outlined strategic interventions to check the spread of the Coronavirus, enforcement has been very weak across the country. The Ghana Medical Association has condemned what it described as “the indiscipline by Ghanaians to adhere to safety protocols against Covid”.
Many Ghanaians go about their business without a face covering. The sale and purchase of hand sanitizers have also dropped as though the virus has been completely defeated in the Sub Region.
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Cases keep getting recorded, especially in Accra. A recent graphical presentation of the spread of the virus shows a spike in the first and second weeks of December.
Presently, Ghana’s new reported case stands at 62 as at the 14th of December. Infectious disease experts at the Ministry of Health fear the cases could spike by January 1.
Ghana’s Covid-19 cases have been on the rise since October, with daily case counts spiking in the tens. Disease experts from the University of Ghana project that over 1 million Ghanaians have the virus - despite recent cases being over 45,000.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
