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COVID-19: No bed shortage in Ghana -GHS refutes claim
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has stated that the country was yet to exceed its bed capacity for treatment of coronavirus (COVID-19) patients contrary to emerging reports of bed shortages at the centres.
“In terms of attainment of full bed capacity as a country, we can state that we have never exceeded our bed capacity as a country.
We started this process with a 450-bed capacity which has increased to 700 and at the moment, we have 71 treatment centres across the country with 21 of them, idle,” Director General of the GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye said in a statement on Wednesday.
The release which sought to clarify recent allegations that the Service was under-reporting and manipulating national data on the disease brought to light that the GHS was expanding the number of beds in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region specifically, to take care of mild to moderate cases and positive cases with co-morbidities.
“We are still not resting on our oars, we will continue to expand. We are working with the regions to increase the bed capacity for moderate to severe and critical cases. For instance, a 12-bed Intensive Care Unit wing is coming up at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital.
The largest isolation centre for those who are largely asymptomatic is the Pentecost Convention Centre located in Gomoa Fetteh with a bed capacity of 600 but as at June 16, 2020, we had 356 in-patients and the centre has never operated at maximum capacity,” the statement said.
As regards personal, protective equipment (PPE), Dr Kuma-Aboagye said the GHS had adopted systems including the “Logistic Information Management System” to monitor remotely, the availability of PPE at the district levels.
“Our concern however has been the more appropriate use of the PPE by health workers according to the level of risk they are exposed to and we are currently re-training health providers on infection prevention and control and most importantly, adherence to appropriate and consistent use of the PPE,” he noted.
The GHS in the statement explained that the recent spike in number of positive COVID-19 cases represented more of isolated reports in institutions and some localities rather than a general community spread.
While expressing concern over the trend, the release clarified that “the current number represents more of isolated spikes in localised institutions and localities and not a generalised diffused community spread.”
“It is worth noting three regions and 176 districts have not reported any new COVID-19 case in the last one week.”
Among other issues bordering on timely laboratory test results, means of discharge of recovered patients, contact tracers, safe re-opening of schools and increase in critical care staff, the GHS signalled its resolve to ensure the efficient use of resources for the overall wellbeing of Ghanaians amidst the pandemic.
“We wish to state categorically that the GHS does not manipulate the data collated from the regions. The reporting on data including deaths and recoveries at the national level goes beyond just numbers to include epidemiological and clinical states of cases and that requires a bit of more time to verify and validate.
In that context, the regional level data will normally be higher than the national data at any given time,” the Service cleared.
Pressure group, Occupy Ghana, had earlier this week raised concerns over the number of COVID-19 related deaths in the country, alleging that the government was under-reporting the death toll.
According to the group, the death toll from some regions does not correspond to the total number of deaths in the country accusing the GHS of “massaging” of numbers which could lead to mistrust among the public.
Source: Ghanaian Times
Administrator of the Minerals Development Fund, Hannah Louisa Bissiw, has appealed to supporters of the National Democratic Congress to remain patient as the government works to create employment opportunities.
According to her on GHone TV today, March 12, 2026 the government led by John Dramani Mahama is taking steps to stabilise the economy and address several national challenges, which she believes will eventually create more jobs for the youth.
Dr Bissiw explained that the government inherited many difficulties and is working to fix issues affecting roads, water, electricity, education and the economy.
She noted that addressing these problems takes time and therefore party supporters must allow the government the space to implement its programmes.
Dr Bissiw indicated that leaders of the party, including the National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, have been engaging supporters across the country and encouraging them to remain patient.
According to her, improvements in the economy are already being seen, including stability of the Ghana cedi and a reduction in food prices.
She explained that these developments are helping to ease some of the economic pressure on citizens.
Dr Bissiw further stated that the government is making efforts to support young people, especially those who were previously denied employment opportunities.
She revealed that she has personally helped about 63 young people secure opportunities even though they were not previously known to her.
Dr Bissiw therefore appealed to party supporters to remain hopeful and continue supporting the government as it works to improve the economy and create more opportunities for the youth.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party, Justin Kodua Frimpong, has clarified that the party’s ongoing online membership registration is open to all Ghanaians.
He explained that the registration process allows anyone interested in joining the party to sign up, regardless of their previous political affiliation.
Mr Kodua Frimpong made the remarks on Thursday at the NPP head office in Accra while addressing concerns that supporters of other political parties could take advantage of the online system to register.
According to him, every Ghanaian has the right to register and become a member of the party if they choose to do so.
He added that even the National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, could register if he wished to join the New Patriotic Party.
Mr Kodua Frimpong noted that if Mr Asiedu Nketia decides to sign up, he would be accepted like any other person who wants to become a member.
He further stated that such a decision would mean that the NDC chairman has recognised the values of the NPP.
The NPP General Secretary was providing an update to the public on the party’s membership registration exercise.
By: Jacob Aggrey
