56 students test positive for COVID-19 in Western Region
Fifty-six (56) students have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 in the Western Region.
The students are from six Senior High Schools and a Nursing and Midwifery school in the region.
According to the Western Regional Director of Health, Dr. Jacob Mahama, 309 samples were picked from the seven institutions, which included the Asankragwa Nursing and Midwifery Training School.
He noted that 139 others are currently pending testing.
“As at now, we have 309 samples taken from six Senior High Schools and the Asankragwa Nursing and Midwifery Training School. They have positive cases that amount to 56 positive cases. 149 are negatives and 139 are still pending,” Dr. Jacob Mahama told Citi FM.
He, however, revealed that out of the list of schools with the virus, Nsei SHS topped the chart with 26 out of 56 cases.
“The school with the largest positives is Nsei SHS which has 26 positives out of 78 samples taken there. Archbishop Porter Girls has 2 positives, Adiembra (2), St. John’s (1), Ahantaman (1), Shama SHS (18) and Asankragwa Nursing and Midwifery Training School (6). What we did was that we picked the contacts and samples to the laboratory. We are yet to hear anything about the disinfection of these schools,“ he told Accra-based Citi FM.
Touching on the region’s overall samples awaiting testing, Dr. Mahama described the situation as worrying as he revealed 4,095 are pending out of 14,000 total samples taken.
“As a region, we have taken 14,000 samples and sent all to the laboratory. 8,695 are negative, 2,218 are positive and 4,095 are still pending.
“As you know, we run out of reagents as a country and the reagents are in and they are currently doing the distribution to the various laboratories. As I speak, my people have been given an order to bring their request which was sent yesterday and they are waiting to be called to go for theirs.”
There are media reports of some COVID-19 samples which have been contaminated following the shortage of reagent for testing in the region.
But the Western Regional Director of Health, Dr. Jacob Mahama said he is unaware of any such situation even though he admitted there was a shortage of reagents for testing.
“I’m not aware of samples that have gone bad. Not in our labs, maybe in the districts. As long as they are in the refrigerator, it cannot go bad or expire. All that we know is that our fridges are full.
“What they do now, is that they send some of the samples to KCCR or Accra. For instance, the samples we are taking from the SHS are sent straight to Accra for test. If we get the reagents and more staff, they can reduce the 4,000 backlogs to an appreciable minimum within 10 days,” he said.
Last Sunday, theghanareport.com reported that As anxious parents scratch their heads over whether it was a wise decision to send their wards to school amid the covid-19 outbreak, seven schools in the Western Region have confirmed the virus.
Nsein SHS in Nzema East; Shama SHS, in Shama District; Adiembra, Ahantaman, St John’s and Archbishop Porters senior high schools in the Sekondi/Takoradi metropolis and the Asankragwa SHS in Amenfi West have confirmed the disease.