Coronavirus: Ghana achieves 5 times target set for enhanced surveillance and testing

Minister for Information Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, says the government has achieved in multiples its main target set out prior to the imposition of restrictions on movement as a measure to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus in the country.

According to Mr Nkrumah, the main purpose of a partial lockdown in some hotspot areas including Greater Accra and Greater Kumasi was to ramp up governments surveillance and testing efforts with a target of about 10,000 at-risk persons.

He reveals that weeks after this was started Ghana has conducted a total over 50,719 tests which is almost five times what was the initial target.

“You would recall that His Excellency the President mentioned that the imposition of restrictions on the Greater Accra and Greater Kumasi was to allow for something to happen. It wasn’t just the imposition of restrictions or what they call a lockdown for lockdown sake. It was to allow for something significant to happen. That significant thing is what we call the enhanced tracing and testing program.

We had a primary target of close to about 10,000 persons that we sought to test, as at latest figures updated by the Ghana Health Service is 641 positive cases. It comes out of about 50,719 tests that have been conducted so far. That is five times or almost five times the target of tests that we set for ourselves to literally lockdown and conduct.” He revealed.

According to the minister, the testing and its results are what will inform the government’s next line of action.

As of the last update by the Ghana Health Service on April 14, 2020, at 23:00HRS, a total of 50,719 persons have been tested with 641 being positive for COVID-19 in Ghana. The breakdown of the 641 positive cases are as follows: 83 of the infected persons have recovered from the virus.

548 cases have been categorised as mild disease and are on treatment, two (2) are categorized as moderate to severe cases, none are currently in a critical state and eight (8) have died.