Coronavirus: Ghana's positive case count up to 1,279

24 Avril 2020

Accra, Ghana, April 24 (Infosplusgabon) - Ghana's COVID-19 (coronavirus) positive case count has climbed by 125 to 1,279, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) announced on Friday.

It said 24 patients have recovered to bring that total to 134 while one more person has passed away making that total 10.

The Greater Accra Region has the highest number of cases with 1,089, followed by Ashanti Region with 69 and Eastern Region has 56.

GHS said on its website that 59% of patients are males while 41% are females.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo lifted the partial lockdown on Accra, Tema and Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region, Kasoa just outside Accra and Kumasi in the Ashanti Region last Monday after loud complaints from informal sector workers who said their sources of income had been curtailed.

Attempts by the government, churches, individuals and organisations to distribute food ended up in chaos as beneficiaries flouted social distancing protocols with impunity.

The decision to lift the partial lockdown has split the country down the middle as a section of the population has described it as a false step given the continuing spike in the numbers of positive cases.

Various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies have decided to make the wearing of face masks compulsory to contain the virus and will deploy security agencies to enforce their decision.

But the Food and Drugs Authority is raising the red flags about the quality of homemade face masks saying some do not pass the strict standards to protect users.

It is recommending that fabric used for face masks should be free from all chemicals and in any event that printed fabric is used, the layer of the fabric in direct contact with the face should be plain fabric that is free from chemicals and it should have three layers.

It said in its guidelines that reusable homemade face masks should be properly washed before reuse.

"Used homemade face masks must first be disinfected; then washed with soap or detergent until clean, rinsed under running water; dried in the open sun, and ironed before reuse.

"They should be routinely washed depending on the frequency of use or when saturated from condensation build-up from breathing, or after a contamination event."

Meanwhile, the Police Administration has begun the testing of some 8,000 police officers who were on duty during the partial lockdown.

This is to identify police officers who might have come into contact with infected persons during the three weeks.

Superintendent Sheila Kesse Abayie-Buckman, Director of Public Affairs, Ghana Police Service, said: “The mission is to test as many people as possible and the Police administration has taken the initiative for police officers who performed the specific duty to be tested."

FIN/INFOSPLUSGABON/PLK/GABON2020

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