Western Region becoming Ghana’s COVID-19 hotspot – GHS

The Ghana Health Service says the Western Region is fast becoming Ghana’s COVID-19 hotspot.

The Sekondi/Takoradi metropolis and the Tarkwa municipality are the latest places brewing new cases.

“We’ll do more about the Western Region which is becoming the new hotspot, a phenomenon that we have gotten used to now,” the Director-General of the GHS, Dr Patrick Kumah Aboagye, said during a press briefing in Accra, on Tuesday to give an update on the country’s coronavirus situation.

The Western Region’s situation comes on the back of a wave of infections in Obuasi in the Ashanti Region, which compelled the government to send a team of medical expert to study and advise on the situation.

The mining town’s rate of infections has since taken a dip, as the Ashanti Region records single digit infections.

“As of May 24, 2020, a total of 156 new cases had been recorded in Ghana, and this goes to show the new trend of fewer cases. The cases were identified in five out of the 16 regions. Greater Accra contributing about 72 new cases,  Western Region 57, Central Region 13 cases, Volta Region, recorded an increase in 10, and Ashanti recording the lowest figure ever of 4 new cases in a day,” Dr Aboagye said.

Ghana’s total COVID-19 cases jumped from 6,808 to 6,964 in a day. The Savannah Region joined the list of COVID-19 infected regions in the country after it recorded its first case on May 25, 2020.

According to Dr Aboagye, the patient was a 31-year-old man who lives in Salaga, but worked in Tamale. He said the patient had been quarantined. Enhanced surveillance also identified 12 contacts of the infected person and have all been put in self-isolation.

So far, 14 out of 16 regions have recorded coronavirus cases. The two remaining regions are the Ahafo and Bono-East regions.

The Greater Accra Region leads the list of infected regions with 4,907 cases, representing over 88% of the total cases recorded in Ghana.

The regional breakdown of COVID-19 are as follows: