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Director of the Health Promotion Division of the SGA and Leader of Risk Communication of the National COVID-19 Working Group, Dr. Dacosta Aboagye
Ghana is at risk of a second wave of COVID-19 if the public continues to loosen precautionary measures.
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has warned that a second wave of the pandemic may be more dire than the first if people do not adhere to safety protocols.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, the Director of the GHS Health Promotion Division and Risk Communication Leader for the National COVID-19 Task Force, Dr. Dacosta Aboagye, said the position of the public was causing a gradual increase in cases, and that if care is not taken, the nation will soon see a significant increase.
Active cases of the disease had risen from 309 to 589 in recent weeks, with a death toll of 320.
“This recent increase is attributed to the non-compliance of security protocols by Ghanaians and the low perception that the infection has disappeared,” he said.
Political parties
Dr. Aboagye asked the political parties to organize their activities in a way that does not slow down the progress made in the fight against the disease.
He said mass gatherings at political events, without resorting to security protocols, especially the use of face masks by attendees, were a recipe for new infections.
“People have lost their caution and no longer wear masks; people do not wash their hands or sanitize themselves as they should and this is dangerous for us as a country, “he said.
He warned that while Ghana was doing well in fighting COVID-19, it was still not out of the woods.
That, he said, requires that efforts be maintained in safety protocols, such as washing hands, disinfecting them and wearing face masks.
Public education
According to Dr. Aboagye, public education should be intensified, with the help of queen mothers, bosses and celebrities, to raise awareness of the need to adhere to safety protocols.
He stated that Ghana’s weapon against COVID-19 was security protocols, adding that non-compliance with them had serious consequences.
“The number of cases is skyrocketing; I beg Ghanaians to know that they have a responsibility to adhere to security protocols because if everyone is adhering to the security protocols that we have established, cases should be going down.
“We need the media, queen mothers, bosses and celebrities to help in public education about COVID-19,” he said.
“We also need the Ministry of Information to help front-line health workers to step up education about the new coronavirus, so everyone knows that cases have started to increase,” he added.
Challenge
Dr Aboagye said the real challenge in fighting the pandemic was complying with safety protocols because all Ghanaians were aware of the disease, hence the need to continually educate the public about the protocols.
“The problem is that behavior change is a process, and it is true that we are introducing something new into our culture; for example, the use of masks and social distancing. So we have to continually talk about them before they can sink down well and effect change in Ghanaians, ”he said.
He said that although an executive instrument (EI) had been introduced to enforce compliance with security protocols, it would take the collective effort of Ghanaians to achieve compliance.
In addition, he said, individual responsibility was key to successful behavior change.
Another challenge highlighted by Dr. Aboagye was stigma, as many infected people did not show up to the hospital on time due to stigma.
Therefore, he implored Ghanaians to visit the nearest health facilities if they notice signs and symptoms of the virus.
He alluded to the fact that most of those who reported on time, despite their cases going from moderate to critical condition, survived and recovered.
However, he said, those who were rushed to the centers died within 48 hours due to the delay in notification.
Dr. Aboagye said that the GHS will continue public education and community engagement and will leverage the incoming national yellow fever campaign to educate Ghanaians on COVID-19 safety protocols and the need for compliance.
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