Ghana’s coronavirus cases hit 132

Editor’s Note: There is a discrepancy in the figures provided by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) which is the sole institution announcing updates on the COVID-19 pandemic. GHS confirmed Thursday morning that there have been a newly recorded 54 cases including 3 deaths. If added to the earlier 68 cases, it would amount to 122 cases including 6 deaths. It contradicts what the GHS has announced. Efforts to reach the GHS to explain the seeming error proved futile.

Ghana’s Coronavirus cases have jumped from 68 to 132. The death toll, however, remains 3, confirms the Ghana Health Service (GHS).

According to the GHS “As at the morning of 26 March 2020, a total of fifty-four (54) cases including three (3) deaths have been confirmed from the regular surveillance systems. All the three (3) cases that unfortunately succumbed to the disease were aged and had underlying chronic medical conditions.

“All the other fifty-one (51) cases are well; fourteen (14) are being managed at home and the rest are responding well to treatment on admission in isolation. They are awaiting their test results and will be discharged when the results are negative.

“The great majority of the confirmed cases are Ghanaians, who returned home from affected countries. Seven (7) are of other nationals namely: Norway, Lebanon, China, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom (UK). The number of confirmed cases among travelers under mandatory quarantine who have been tested is seventy-eight (78).

“In respect of contact tracing, a total of 970 contacts have been identified and are being tracked. Out of these, two hundred and four (204) have completed the 14 days mandatory follow up.”

In the wake of suggestions for a lockdown, information minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has said government may resort to restrictions in some parts of Ghana, all in the bid to halt the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

He disclosed that the government is open to all measures to help curb the spread of the pandemic and restrictions in some parts of the country could be part of those measures.

“So far, every step of the way, the government has been very proactive with coming up with measures to contain the situation. Those final rafts of measures now that the law has been put in place may include some restrictions in some parts of the country but whatever will be done will be with the objective of ensuring that we totally negate the potential for community spread,” he said on Citi News.

It would be recalled that Parliament last week passed the Imposition of Restrictions law and that could give the government a new way of ensuring the spread of the disease is halted.