COVID-19: Gov’t working to avoid third wave – GHS
Government of Ghana is trying all it can to avoid and prevent the spread of possible third outbreak of deadly Coronavirus, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, the Director General, Ghana Health Service, has said.
He said with some countries in Europe currently experiencing a third wave of the infectious disease, coupled with the rising cases in India and Brazil, it was imperative for government to be alert, especially at the airport, to avoid being taken by surprise.
Dr Kuma-Aboagye, speaking during the Minister’s media update in Accra, said the country’s COVID-19 numbers at the airport had reduced averaging 90 per week.
“We still have significant threat, especially with the third wave in Europe and the rising cases in India and Brazil. We have experienced two waves and as you are aware, the second wave is bigger than the first wave. We have significant decline in our cases since mid-February and currently our active cases have dropped from 8,000 to less than 1,500. In actual fact, it is about 1, 314,” he said.
Next batch of vaccine
Answering to a question on when Ghanaians whose second jab is due should expect to take it, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye explained that the delay in the procurement of additional COVID-19 vaccines is occasioned by the global scramble for vaccines and the unavailability of same.
“As a service, we are more concerned about having more people with the first dose. There are also bilateral arrangements that will bring in other COVAX vaccines including Johnson and Johnson which we are expecting in the third quarter of the year.
“So, we are assuring people, if you do not get it on the eighth week, it does not mean there’s something wrong. We still have a four-week window period and beyond to have it,”
Ghana has given the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine to about 800,000 persons in the ongoing vaccination exercise.
Recorded cases in schools
Dr. Patrick indicated that recent updates shows that 345 schools across the country have, so far, recorded cases of COVID-19.
“Since we reopened the schools, 345 schools have recorded cases. We have recorded a total of 2,052 cases in schools in the country. Our current active case number is 13” he said.
He also noted that the Volta Region had the highest number of recorded cases in schools, while the Oti Region currently has the highest number of active cases.
“Volta Region has recorded the highest number with 189 cases. Oti has the highest number of active cases because their cases are quite recent, compared to the other cases. The North East Region is the only region that has recorded no cases,” he explained.
Nationwide, Ghana currently has 1,334 active cases of the virus.
There have been 91,709 reported cases in all, with 771 deaths from the virus.
The Greater Accra Region has had the most cases with 50,642, followed by the Ashanti Region with 15,445.
Breakdown of regional cases:
Greater Accra Region – 50,615
Ashanti Region – 15,443
Western Region – 5,748
Eastern Region – 4,157
Central Region – 3,311
Volta Region – 2,412
Northern Region – 1,651
Bono East Region – 1,423
Bono Region – 1,371
Upper East Region – 1,311
Western North Region – 859
Ahafo Region – 707
Upper West Region – 493
Oti Region – 406
North East Region – 223
Savannah Region – 122
