Ghana joins list of African countries with new deadly Covid variant

Ghana joins list of African countries with new deadly Covid variant

- Ghana has been listed as part of African countries with a Covid-19 variant

- Scientists working on this say they won’t respond until Akufo-Addo does

- Ghana’s active covid-19 case has shot up since December 2020

The African Union Center for Disease Control (CDC), has listed Ghana among countries on the Continent with the deadly variant of the coronavirus.

Scientists working on Sequencing have confirmed this. They say they would comment after President Akufo-Addo makes announcement. In all, Ghana, South Africa, Zambia and Botswana are officially African states with the new variant of the virus.

READ ALSO: Police to arrest school kids who are not in facemasks - Sunyani MCE

The Ghana Medical Association has pressed government to re-introduce restrictions, if not a lockdown, to deal with the recent surge in cases. Meanwhile, the information minister has explained that a national lockdown will happen if cases continue to soar.

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Ghana joins list of African countries with new deadly Covid variant
Ghana joins list of African countries with new deadly Covid variant (Photo: Extracted from AU website)
Source: Facebook

Speaking on Joy News, a former deputy health minister, Bernard Oko Boye indicated the county had applied to a world health Organization platform to access the vaccine expected to be available in the first of this year. He disclosed the priority list for vaccination.

“As we speak, there is a technical committee established to look at the criteria for a rollout. Frontline health care workers on the priority risk. Also, the security forces, persons with health conditions and transport operators and teachers because of how they interact with passengers,” he revealed Lockdown Government is under immense pressure to effect a second lockdown.

Ghana’s Coronavirus positivity rate keeps increasing. The Ghana Medical Association has warned of hospitals and Intensive Care Units (ICUs) being overwhelmed by Covid-19 cases.

Covid-19 testing must be free for all Ghanaians - Okudzeto Ablakwa As at January 11, the number of confirmed active cases – as reported from the website of the Ministry of Health – stands at 1,404.

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Covid-19 testing must be free for all Ghanaians - Okudzeto Ablakwa

Figures from the Ministry of Health shows a spike in daily numbers since December – this has been linked to indiscipline, flouting of covid-19 protocols and the elections.

Already, the Ghana Medical Association has warned the public that “their health is in their own hands” and hospitals get overstretched to deal with the surge of the virus.

Ghana joins list of African countries with new deadly Covid variant
Ghana joins list of African countries with new deadly Covid variant (Stock photo modified by Arthur)
Source: Facebook

Even as government races to curtail the spread of the virus, suspicions of a suppression of Covid-19 data keeps rising. Journalists and some medical professionals are doubting the figures being churned by the Ministry of Health as they argue that they (the figures) are in sharp contrast with the reality at various medical facilities.

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Meanwhile, President Akufo Addo has assured of Ghana’s preparedness to roll out a mass vaccination program against Covid-19. Speaking at his recent Covid-19 address, the president revealed that procurement processes are far advanced to secure millions of vaccine doses in 2021.

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Source: YEN.com.gh

Authors:
Nii Ayi Ayitey avatar

Nii Ayi Ayitey Nii Ayi Ayitey, aka Charles Ayitey, is an experienced journalist who covered Current Affairs news for Yen.com.gh from 2015-2021. He also worked for such companies as Multimedia Group Limited, Scooper, and Face2Face Africa. Nii Ayi Ayitey holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication and Media Studies from the Ghana Institute of Journalism (2015). Currently, he's studying at UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.