Fight against coronavirus not lost – GMA Vice President

The recent spike in cases of coronavirus in the country did not constitute the total failure of the fight against the virus, Vice President of the Ghana Medical Association, Dr Frank Serebour has said.

In his submission on ‘Pure Morning Drive’ hosted by Kwame Adinkra on Tuesday, he refuted claims that the country has failed in handling the pandemic.

"I don’t think we’ve failed. Ghana cannot be said to have failed at all. There are challenges and nobody can run away from them. How we have conducted ourselves in the last few months is the challenge. Because if we are told to ensure all protocols and we decide not to comply with what happens?”

"Are we not the same people who complained when some capitals cities were partially locked down? we also realised that at the end of the day we needed to look at both the economic and scientific implications of it.”

"Another reason I’m saying we haven’t failed is that our borders are still closed; at a point in time, we made sure people who came in were quarantined, tested and isolated. Did contact and enhance contact tracing. These are all pluses we have done as a country. Government-supported business with stimulus packages to make sure businesses stay afloat. Health workers also enjoyed some tax waivers, that’s more of a motivational package.”

The GMA vice president despite insisting that Ghana haven't failed in handling the virus had exceptions

"I’m not saying everything has been perfect. There are few others we haven’t done right - [like] Shortage of Personal Protective Equipment for health – workers. But in the midst of the challenges, government together with health workers are working to find solutions to fight this pandemic. See! the whole world has been in a state of confusion in handling the pandemic. Nobody has experience in handling pandemics...," he added.

Dr Frank Serebour expressed disappointment in how Ghanaians are not complying with the protocols at the centres of the ongoing voter registration exercise and called on the Electoral Commission to ensure registrants comply fully.

Meanwhile, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is accusing the Akufo-Addo-led administration of paying what it calls lip service to the fight against the contagion.

National Communication Officer of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi in a press conference in Accra on Monday, said the government has no real plan to defeat the pandemic.

“Indeed, our present COVID-19 situation, which clearly is getting worse by the day, calls for deep and candid introspection and soul-searching by the nation…Without mincing any words or making bones about this indisputable fact, Ghana is fast-losing the COVID-19 fight, due to the careless and directionless leadership of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.”