President Nana Akufo-Addo says he has been vindicated by the decision to mandatorily quarantine all persons who arrived in the country after March 21.
He said the fact that the majority of Ghana’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) case count is from the population of people under mandatory quarantine shows that the decision was appropriate and in the best interest of the populace.
So far, 78 persons who are under mandatory quarantine have tested positive for COVID-19.
Akufo-Addo, who was speaking at a meeting with members of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) at the Jubilee House on Thursday, March 26, 2020, said: “I have been vindicated by facts. It turns out that the overwhelming number of cases are all from people who came from abroad and of those who came and have been quarantined, an extreme number have been found to be carrying the virus.”
Ghana’s case count
As at 0600GMT on Friday, March 27, 2020, Ghana’s COVID-19 case count was 132 cases.
Out of the number, 78 were people under mandatory quarantine while, 54 were of people in the general national population. Three of those in the general national population have however died.
One person within the general national population has also recovered.
This leaves the total number of active cases at 128.
Restrictions to stop COVID-19 spread
The rising cases of Coronavirus in the country have heightened calls for Ghana to declare a lockdown in order to stop the spread.
President Nana Akufo-Addo in response to the calls said although a lockdown remains an option, extensive consultations will be made to ensure that any decision the government takes, will be in the right direction.
“People in Ghana are now talking about a lockdown. Majority of people who will be affected by decisions of that nature are the working people of our country. The ordinary people of Ghana. They are the ones who will be affected and it is important for us to take into account the circumstances and conditions. When we lock down Accra, what are the consequences? A responsible government is required to look at all the implications before decisions are made. And that is the exercise we are currently engaged in and I am hoping that much sooner than later we will come to an agreement on what those measures are and the Ghanaian people will be informed,” the President said.
Persons who entered Ghana from March 3 to be traced, tested
The President has subsequently directed the mandatory tracing and testing for coronavirus, of all persons who arrived in the country from March 3, 2020.
This is part of enhanced measures to track the real number of persons who have contracted the infection in a bid to prevent further spread.
Speaking to Citi News, the Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah explained that the Immigration Service and Communications Ministry are leading the charge in carrying out the President’s directive.
“…Initially, we were looking to start around the 15th [March] but the President has asked us to go back as far as the 3rd [of March],” he said.
Oppong Nkrumah explained that the Immigration Service has in its database information about persons who entered the country within the period in question.
“The Ghana Immigration Service, working with the Ministry of Communication, and their agencies have a whole database of all those who came in,” he said.
