Ghana will hit 50,000 coronavirus cases soon – Epidemiologist

A professor of epidemiology, Fred Newton Binka, has predicted that Ghana will hit the 50,000-mark in Covid-19 cases in no time.

He said this is as a result of the wanton disregard of the public to all the safety protocols in preventing the disease.

Ghana has so far recorded 20,085 cases of the virus since its outbreak on Thursday, March 12, 2020.

One hundred and twenty-two persons have lost their lives while 14,870 persons have beaten the disease.

But speaking on The Key Points on TV3/3FM on Saturday, July 3, Prof Binka says the country will be hitting 50,000 soon.

“The numbers are going to go up,” the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) said.

“This virus doesn’t have a leg. We all have gone through many in trying to slow it down [but] once people come together, they will distribute the virus and then we shall have more numbers.

“So there is no gainsaying that we are generating and creating these problems.”

He was worried the lives of health workers are being put in danger so indiscriminately.

“We have said it from Day 1 that when the numbers go up health workers are at risk because they will come into contact with patients with the disease and your chances of getting infected increases with the chances of getting into contact with the disease.”

Prof Binka said from what is happening, Ghana’s record is only “a tip of the iceberg”.

“When I sit here and I look at the numbers, I look more at the numbers that are being tested. Our testing is going down. The more the asymptomatic people are being found, the more the numbers are going to double and remember that we have said over and over again that the increase is geometric. It’s not just direct infection. So if you have 100 today, they will infect 100.

“So these numbers are going to quadruple. We shall hit 50,000 in no time and we need to do something to slow it. Unfortunately, we are not ready to start the slowing process.”