The Ghana Medical Association (GMA), has intimated that, there should be a government-led free mass testing in all identified COVID-19 hot spots in the country. An activity the Association believes will help address the current short falls in the country’s testing and contact tracing regimes.
The request by the GMA to the government is in relation with the current surge of COVID-19 infections in these past weeks.
Dr. Frank Ankobiah, President of GMA, communicating on behalf of the Association, called on the government for the COVID-19 testing to be made free or relatively cheaper for Ghanaians and called for the augmentation in testing and contact tracing for cases in the country.
“The GMA calls for an urgent scale up of COVID-19 Testing and Contact Tracing for all positive cases as well as strict isolation and management of all infected persons to help break the chain of transmission. Additionally, COVID-19 testing should be made free or relatively cheaper for the ordinary Ghanaian who needs testing as a result of direct exposure or when symptomatic for COVID-19.”
The Association disclosed that, Ghana has recorded 175 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the number of active cases to 1,404.
The GMA also described the rate of COVID-19 infections in Ghana as alarming and dire.
“The COVID-19 situation in the country is alarming and dire at this particular moment. The risk of potential exponential rise in the number of cases cannot be discounted. The various major health facilities (especially in the Accra Metropolis) involved in the management of moderate, severe and critically ill COVID-19 patients are overstretched.”
According to the GMA, there is the need for increased public awareness campaign and strict adherence to prevention protocols in order to stem the tide of infections in the country.
Additionally, the Association’s President, called on various bodies to re-launch and intensify education on the COVID-19 protocols.
The Association averred that, the increasing case count can directly be attributed to the total disregard for and the lack of enforcement of all relevant COVID-19 preventive protocols throughout the country and also the importation of cases from other countries via travellers arriving at the points of entry.
Touching on the reopening of schools, he admonished all educational institutions to ensure strict compliance to the COVID-19 protocols put in place adding that, the adherence to all strategies of early detection, isolation and treatment is very critical in mitigating the spread.
With the COVID-19 vaccine, the GMA urged the government, to do all it can to fast track the process of getting the vaccine to enable Ghanaians get the vaccination before the situation gets out of hand and urged the public to discount conspiracy theories against the use of vaccines
The total case count currently stands at 56,982 with 55, 236 recoveries. There have been 175 new cases recorded pushing the active case count to 1404.
However, the total number of deaths have increased to 341 from 338 after three more people succumbed to the deadly virus.
