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Ghana attains 75% COVID-19 recovery rate – GHS
Ghana now has a 75 per cent COVID-19 recovery rate, following the recuperation of 10,907 patients as of yesterday, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye has revealed.
At the COVID-19 press briefing in Accra yesterday, he said all the patients in three out of the 16 administrative regions in the country; Savannah, Northern and Upper West, numbering 37, 61 and 35 respectively, had recovered.
According to him, the majority of the recovered patients were from the Greater Accra Region, where 76 per cent of its 8,075 cases, the highest in the country, had recovered.
He said about 67 per cent of the 2, 867cases in Ashanti had recovered; almost half of Bono East’s 33 cases were free of the virus with Central recording 83 per cent recovery of 794 cases and Eastern, 56 per cent of 400 cases.
Dr Kuma-Aboagye disclosed that the rest of the regions including the Upper East, Volta Region, Western, and Western North had recovery rates ranging between 96 and eight per cent.
“Those who have recovered are free of the virus and they will not be able to transmit the virus to any other person. We isolate only patients who can transmit the virus”, he said and urged the public to not stigmatise them.
Of the 95 people that have died so far, he said majority of them were males more than 60 years with only three per cent less than 15 years, adding that comorbidity was responsible for their demise.
For his part, the Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, said the government was engaging the Ghana Police Service to ensure a “purposive” interpretation of Executive Instrument (E.I 164) on wearing of nose mask.
That, he said, would help lay to rest concerns over whether persons who ride in their private vehicles alone were supposed to wear the mask or not following some confrontation between police and drivers.
Signed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on June 15, 2020, in line with powers granted him by Imposition of Restrictions Act, 2020 (Act 1012), the EI is part of measures to control the spread of COVID -19 in the country.
Per the law, people who do not wear face masks in public could be sentenced to jail terms from four to 10 years or pay a fine between GH¢12,000 and GH¢60,000.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah said the engagement with the police had become important because the government wanted to ensure that the intention behind the law, which was to stop the spread of the virus, was not defeated.
Responding to concerns that the fine was hash, he said it had been instituted to deter people from flouting the law, stating that “The mere fact that the sanctions are there, would make people comply”
Source: Ghanaian Times
Troubled and anxious citizens in Damongo of the Savannah Region have expressed concerns about the number of young people, believed to be under the age of 18, involved in ‘shisha’ smoking in pubs and drinking spots within the township.
Eyewitnesses say the minors were seen patronising nightlife venues, where Shisha smoking happen in the open.
The situation has sparked renewed public concern over the enforcement of child protection laws and regulations governing the operations of entertainment centres in the municipality and country as a whole.
An eyewitness, who spoke to The Spectator on conditions of anonymity for security reasons, noted that the situation was becoming increasingly common.
“This is not a one-off incident. It is becoming very common, but residents like us cannot openly report or speak about it because our lives will be at risk,” he said.
Under Ghanaian law, minors were prohibited from patronising Shisha.
Public health experts have consistently warned that shisha use exposes users to harmful substances that can negatively affect brain development, respiratory health, and overall well-being, particularly among young people.
The residents believe the alleged incidents point to broader challenges relating to youth supervision, substance abuse, and weak enforcement of existing regulations and have called on municipal authorities, security agencies, and regulatory bodies to intensify monitoring of pubs and entertainment centres to ensure compliance with the law.
In an effort to address the menace, Mr Salisu Be-Awurbi, the Savannah Regional Minister, has led public education campaigns, engaged security agencies, and supported enforcement actions to address the rising use of illicit substances in the region.
Wura Kelly Seidu Boresah I, the Chief of Damongo, has also called on all stakeholders including parents, community leaders, institutions, and young people to actively support efforts to curb drug abuse, warning that the rising consumption of hard drugs poses a serious health threat to the future of the youth in the Savannah Region.
He also cautioned individuals involved in the sale and distribution of illicit drugs to immediately desist from the practice, stressing that offenders will face arrest and prosecution in accordance with the law.
From Geoffrey Buta, Damongo, Savannah Region
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Dr Theresa Baffour, an advocate for ending violence and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SAHM SAHW Foundation, has said that society plays a critical and pivotal role in breaking the cycle of domestic violence.
According to her, domestic violence is a major contributor of making women, who are mostly the victims, mentally derailed and unable to engage in economic activities.
She said this when the foundation called on the Ga Mantse, Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, to solicit support for the initiative by the “Strong and Healthy Minds, Strong and Healthy Women” (SAHM SAHW) to combat domestic violence within the Ga State.
The visit was occasioned by the fact that domestic violence cases have become quite prevalent in the Ga communities and is retarding growth.
According to her, the canker was an impediment to national development because the victims were usually tortured and would have to go through series of therapies to return to the right state of mind.
Dr Baffour mentioned that Gender-Based Violence (GBV) places a mental toll on women, and was, therefore, important to break the cycle through comprehensive mental health support, crisis intervention and empowerment programmes in communities with high rates of GBV.
This intervention, she underscored, would help in empowering the denigrated victim of domestic violence to soundly heal, build and thrive.
Dr Baffour added that the initiative would provide holistic, trauma-informed mental health care and advocacy for young women affected by domestic violence.
According to her, the above statement would create safe spaces for healing and equipping them with entrepreneurial skills for renewed hope and empowered life.
The Ga Mantse pledged his support for the laudable initiative to combat domestic violence and also acknowledged the need to address it in the Ga State.
Further endorsement came from Justice Julia Naa-Yarley Adjei Amoah, Chief of Staff at the Office of the Ga Mantse, as she commended the team of SAHM SAHW Foundation for taking a bold step to end the canker in the Greater Accra.
She added that it was a step in the right direction to save vulnerable women from torture, stress and emotional abuse.
By Alfred Nii Arday Ankrah
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