Accra, Ghana, April 19, 2020//-Ghana’s President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo today lifted restrictions imposed on the movement of persons within some parts of the country, effective Monday (tomorrow).
The decision to enforce the three-week lockdown was taken to give government the opportunity to try to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), scale-up effectively the tracing of persons who had come into contact with infected persons, test them for the virus, and quarantine those who tested positive and isolate them for treatment, according to him.
In his seventh telecast address to the nation, Mr Akufo-Addo explained that the decision which takes effect from Monday, April 20, 2020 follows achievements made with aggressive contact tracing and enhanced testing capacities which have made it possible to contain the spread in Ghana.
Four major cities- Accra, Tema, Kaso and Kumasi were placed under a three-week lockdown purposely to hold the spread of the coronavirus.
As Ghana received the test results of some 68,591 contacts, and with the majority of tests being undertaken over the last three weeks, 1,042 persons, i.e. 1.5%, have been confirmed as positive, with 67,549, i.e. 98.5%, testing negative, he said.
Additionally, 99 persons have recovered and have been discharged, with 930 persons, who have been isolated responding to treatment either in their homes or in treatment facilities.
“The main reason our country has seen an increase in the number of confirmed cases over the last three weeks is because of the decision we took aggressively to trace and test contacts of infected persons.
“This has enabled us to identify and isolate infected persons, protect the population from further infections, and contain better the spread of the virus,” Mr Akufo-Addo added.
“Indeed, Ghana is the only other country in Africa to have conducted more than 60,000 tests, and we are ranked number one in Africa in administering of tests per million people”.
Meanwhile, the president has extended the closure of the country’s borders to two weeks. While the ban on social gatherings including religious gatherings are still enforced.
African Eye Report
