Coronavirus: Mahama worried 3 million Ghanaians could get infected with more deaths

Former President John Dramani Mahama has supported projections that millions of people could be infected by Coronavirus in the country.

Speaking via a digital conversation Thursday evening on Ghana's COVID-19 situation, former President Mahama noted that in view of the current number of cases recorded in the nation, there is the possibility that about 3 million Ghanaians may contract the virus and a significant number of the infected persons may die.

"The model government is working with, the projection is that up to 3 million Ghanaians may be infected by the virus and a significant number may require hospitalization or may even die from the virus," he emphasized.

The former President was worried this prediction might come to pass due to President Akufo-Addo's lifting of restrictions on movement and his decisions in fighting against the pandemic.

"In his last address to the country, President Nana Akufo-Addo lifted the partial lockdown imposed on Greater Accra, Greater Kumasi and their environs and Kasoa. At the time the country was recording increasingly higher infections, it was therefore not surprising that many Ghanaians including public health experts were puzzled about the considerations underlying the President's decision. The number of infections are not only rising steeply but there is also clearly a horizontal community spread of the virus. The majority of the Regions in our country have reported cases and the bulk of the positive cases we're seeing are of people who have no history of foreign travel."

Mr. Mahama wondered whether the President considered the "huge backlog of tests that have not yet been cleared and the many possible cases roaming in our communities that have not yet been tested due to a lack of mass testing" before arriving at his decision.