Gov’t awaits results of 15,384 coronavirus tests as fight enters ‘critical’ phase

Government awaits the results of 15,384 tested for the deadly coronavirus, President Nana Akufo-Addo has announced.

In his fifth national address on coronavirus pandemic, the President said the sheer number of tests conducted indicated that “Ghana is about to enter a critical phase” of the fight.

Full text: Akufo-Addo’s 5th address on fight against coronavirus

The results could see a boom in the number of infected persons. Ghana has recorded 214 cases as of Sunday, April 4, when the President addressed the nation.

Three have fully recovered, 49 have been discharged and are being managed from home while 155 are responding to treatment.

Two are moderately ill.

The President said the tested persons are among some 19,000 persons reached through contact tracing.

It is not immediately known when the results would be ready.

Since the government closed all borders, some 1,030 travellers into Ghana were quarantined on March 21 and 22 March.

Of them, 105 tested positive for coronavirus, he said, while 925 have undergone two tests which all turned negative.

The President said of this figure, about 804 had been released to their families with the others expected to also go home. Even before Sunday’s revelation, the government had been preparing Ghanaians to expect more cases.

Coronavirus: Let’s brace for more cases – Head of Noguchi warns

After Ghana’s seventh case was recorded on March 18, 2020, the Director-General of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Professor Kwabena Annan indicated more cases would be recorded.

On the same day, the Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, also said, “the health experts tell us that the next two weeks are critical in determining whether or not we will get significant community spread. They tell us that the general theory in pandemic management is that often, it is likely that the numbers go up a bit before the curve or the situation gets better”.

That two weeks elapsed on April 1, 2020. The president’s address hinting an escalation in the number of cases in Ghana came four days later.

He said the results of the more than 15,000 tests would inform the decision to remove or keep the partial lockdown in the country as it enters its second week.

Next two weeks critical to Ghana’s coronavirus fight – Gov’t

Community spread remains the real concern of government after it appears to have had some control over the rate of imported infections. Once the virus goes viral within communities, containing the outbreak in Ghana could prove to be a ‘catch-me-if-can’ situation.

Ghana recorded its first case on March 12, 2020. The cases increases were marginal until its double-digit additions began showing up.