[ad_1]
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) Director of Health Promotion, Dr. Da Costa Aboagye, has expressed concern about the public’s continued disregard for the COVID-19 safety protocols in place to combat the disease.
He said such acts were dangerous and if left unchecked they would erode the country’s efforts to eradicate the pandemic.
He said that even though the country’s infection rate remained low due to proper measures put in place by the government and stakeholders to combat the disease in the early stages, the virus was still active in the country.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Dr. Aboagye urged Ghanaians not to have a swollen head, but to strive to ensure that the pandemic was fully eradicated.
“I will continue to inform Ghanaians about COVID-19 and let them know that the virus is still living with us, although the infection rate has been reduced due to appropriate measures put in place by the government.”
“As the infection rate remains low, we must ensure that it continues to decline further until we eradicate the pandemic from the country. Therefore, people should not stop wearing face masks, wash their hands regularly, and exercise regularly. This is the time to intensify them to finally eradicate it. I will pray to the Ghanaians that COVID-19 is still with us; it still hasn’t left. “
A recent survey by the GHS in the Greater Accra region revealed that only 14 percent of Ghanaians wore face masks.
Dr. Aboagye praised the government for the strict measures it implemented when the country recorded its first two cases of the virus.
He added that, among other measures, the closure of the country’s borders limited the importation of new cases, thus helping the country contain the disease.
“Since March 12, we have registered our first two cases to date, we have been able to track and test more than 400,000 people and of the 400,000 people we analyzed, almost 43,000 people tested positive, which represents 10 percent of those who tested positive.
“The 43,000 positive cases if they are not the appropriate measures put by the government, the pandemic would have overwhelmed the country. Of the 43,000 positive cases, about 42,246 have been recovered and discharged and that is why we have about 1,300 assets, “he said.
Dr. Aboagye commended frontline health workers, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Information, the media and other stakeholders for their continued efforts in the fight against COVID-19.
Active COVID-19 cases in Ghana as of Saturday 29 August stood at 1,287.
The total number of confirmed cases was 43,949, with 42,392 recoveries and discharge.
