General Secretary of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Dr Justice Yankson, has revealed that, the number of persons testing positive for COVID-19 virus are increasing.

According to him, the spike in Covid cases could potentially represent a third wave in the country. Dr Yankson further noted that an appreciable number of recorded cases are with young persons.

“We are also realising that, generally, a lot more younger people are also coming down with the virus. When Covid-19 started, a lot of people felt that young people were immune but now it is not the case. Young people in their teens have also contracted the virus.

“If you look at what is happening, our general numbers are going up, and there are pockets of hotspots all over the place. Clearly, this could be the beginning of potentially another 3rd wave”.

Following this, he advised the public to adhere to all Covid-19 protocols as the country is yet to attain herd immunity.

Limited spaces in ICU

Additionally, Dr Yankson explained that there are limited bed spaces in the hospitals to withstand a third wave of the virus.

“Generally as a country, we don’t have a lot of space in terms of ICU, bed space, oxygen, and other equipment to handle critical cases.

“We haven’t even had the ability to vaccinate 5% of our population; we are nowhere near herd immunity, and as always said, the fact that you have received the vaccine does not necessarily mean you are 100% protected.

“In fact, as we speak, there are people who have had the two doses and have still come down with Covid-19, so let’s still continue with our protocols”.

Expressing some optimism, he however noted that “prayer alone will not work” and people must follow the protocols.

“We need to be practical and follow the scientific approach that we used to bring our numbers down when we had our 1st and 2nd waves”.

Inadequate equipment in hospitals

Dr Justice Yankson also indicated that hospitals in the country are not adequately resourced to handle the surge in cases.

“If you look at what is happening, our general numbers are also going up, and there are hotspots all over the place, not just in Accra, Ashanti Region and other regions as well. So, clearly, this could be the beginning of potentially another third wave.

“Our ability to handle severe critical cases in terms of ICU spaces, generally as a country we don’t have enough space for that category of persons. That is not to say we don’t have any capacity at all”.

Commenting on the availability of equipment, oxygen, he revealed that “we don’t have enough”.

“And as it stands now, most of the critical care areas are flooded with covid-19 patience. So clearly, this is just the beginning of something that we all don’t want to say. But, even at this point, we are beginning to get overstretched in these areas”.