The 198 new coronavirus cases aren’t new infections – GHS

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) says the 198 new Coronavirus cases announced Saturday are not new infections.

It explained that the record 198 new cases, which have seen the country’s case count jump from 641 to 834, are from a backlog of samples currently at the various laboratory testing centres.

“The general public is however advised that this does not represent new infections that are occurring. It represents results from tests of a backlog of samples,” it stated in its latest update on Ghana’s COVID-19 situation.

Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, revealed Thursday that aside the over 51,000 samples tested as at that time, there were about 12,000 more awaiting testing by the various laboratories in the country.

The GHS said they are currently supervising the completion of the backlog at the laboratory centres

“The laboratories have been working day and night to test this large number of samples. Hopefully in the next few days, all the testing would be completed,” it assured.

Where are the cases being recorded?

Ghana has so far tested 60, 916 samples of which 1.37 % tested positive. The cases recorded since March 12 when the first case was confirmed in the country are saturated in 10 of the 16 regions.

Greater Accra region which was the first to confirm cases so far leads in the numbers with 685 followed by Ashanti Region with 59 cases and Eastern with 51 cases.

Northern Regions has 11 cases with the Upper East and West regions having eight cases apiece while the Volta Region has nine confirmed cases.

The Central, Western and North East regions have each recorded a single case.

What are their conditions?

Four persons have been categorised as being critically or moderately ill while a total of 234 are said to be responding to treatment.

Fatalities now stand at nine.

Sixteen more of them have recovered, bringing the number of persons cured of the virus to 99.