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Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye (left), Deputy Minister of Health, interacting with Dr. Frank Ankobea (right), President of the Ghana Medical Association, after the conference. Observing Dr. Henry Lawson (center), Acting Chancellor of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons. Image: ESTHER ADJEI
Presidential Health Advisor Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare cautioned against the public misperception that coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is no longer prevalent in the country.
He said that the wrong notion was emboldening people to ignore security protocols and that it was affecting the national response to the disease and weakening the progress that had been made.
Dr. Nsiah-Asare said that when he addressed the 62nd Annual General Meeting of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) that was held virtually in Accra yesterday.
He said the country’s active cases had seen a slight increase in recent weeks.
The two-day conference deals with the theme: “Managing a pandemic: the COVID-19 experience”.
Dr. Nsiah-Asare underscored the need for all stakeholders to join the national effort to raise awareness of the global pandemic.
He said it was necessary to convey the message that the country was not out of danger yet, so observing security protocols was essential, as there was still no vaccine or cure for the disease.
He reminded the public that the use of masks was still a requirement and praised the GMA for instituting a national awareness campaign on COVID-19 to help maintain the momentum of the national response.
Observe protocols
In a speech read on behalf of the Minister of Health, Mr. Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, he reiterated the government’s gratitude to all health workers in the country, especially doctors.
He called on the public to continue to wash their hands frequently with soap and running water and to disinfect their hands regularly.
“Let’s also keep looking at social distancing and wear our face masks,” said Agyemang-Manu.
He said that as part of the lessons learned, the nation had increased production of personal protective equipment from an initial 10 percent of the requirement to 90 percent.
Communication
GMA President Dr. Frank Ankobea said from experience that an important arsenal in fighting and managing the pandemic was having a strong communication system.
Looking ahead, he called for the establishment of a well-oiled health communication system in the country, which he insisted was of utmost necessity.
“If all goes well, the entire nation has learned to adopt a healthy living behavior pattern that has helped control the pandemic and will surely help future pandemics,” said Dr. Ankobea.
He added that the pandemic had clearly revealed that early state intervention was critical to saving lives.
“The need for a courageous and dedicated healthcare workforce and a strong and resilient healthcare system cannot be overemphasized.”
“To this end, I tell Ayekoo to our doctors who took it on and put their lives at risk amid an inadequate availability of protective equipment,” he said.
He said that, at their own risk, doctors and other healthcare workers never gave up on giving their best as they had promised the president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, at the start of the pandemic.
Dr. Ankobea said that the GMA had held its own since the beginning of the COVID-19 attack, resulting in 294 doctors becoming infected and some suffering deaths.
“I will continue to urge and plead with all healthcare workers to continue taking the necessary precautions in the performance of their duties,” said the president of the GMA.
Gratitude and supplication
Dr. Ankobea expressed the association’s appreciation to the government for the six-month tax exemption granted to healthcare workers in the heat of the pandemic in the country.
However, he made a passionate call on the government to restore the tax exemption to cover November and December for all healthcare workers.
“In fact, these motivational packs went a long way in inspiring healthcare workers to do their best. The GMA would also like to thank the Ghana Health Service and the National Commission for Civic Education for supporting the association’s educational campaign on COVID-19, ”he added.
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