20 coronavirus cases Recorded In Accra Schools

Twenty (20) positive cases of COVID-19 have been recorded cumulatively in some schools in the Greater Accra Region, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has disclosed.

According to the GHS, there was also a limited outbreak of the disease in some schools in the Upper West and the Western Regions.

Giving updates on the virus to the media yesterday, the Director-General of the GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, said contact tracing has commenced helping to curb the spread of the virus in the schools.

“We still have a limited outbreak of COVID-19 cases] in schools across the country. We’ve had some cases in Upper West, Western, and Greater Accra. But Accra, has cumulatively reported about 20 cases in a couple of schools and the contact tracing and isolation are currently ongoing,” he stated.

It would be recalled that the Director-General of GHS on Thursday, January 28, 2021, announced that three Covid cases had been recorded in some schools in the Western and Upper West Regions.

Schools in the country resumed teaching and learning on January 18, 2021, after several months of being shut down earlier in 2020, the move by the government to maintain the spread of the pandemic coronavirus.

Currently, Ghana’s active cases of Covid-19 stand at 5,515 with 772 new cases recorded as of January 30, 2021.
The death toll has also gone up and currently at 424.

Meanwhile, a survey by the GHS conducted recently has revealed that only 42% of Ghanaians were wearing nose masks correctly.

According to Dr Kuma-Aboagye, the survey was conducted in public spaces including lorry parks in some key districts leading to the number of COVID-19 cases in the Greater Accra Region between 7:00 a.m., and 10:00 a.m in January 29, 2021.

The research was conducted in about 53 communities in Accra, with the compliance level high amongst persons at the University of Ghana and Okponglo.

He said the data showed that 36% of people had nose masks but were wearing them inappropriately while 22% of people were found not in masks at all.

He said this was good news, adding that his outfit was hopeful that it will continue.

“We did one on 29th January 2021. We did assess the mandatory wearing of masks in the Greater Accra Region which is the epicentre of Ghana… The good news is that about 42% of people are now wearing masks appropriately, 22% were not wearing masks at all and 36% were not wearing them correctly. So if I add, we are looking at almost 80% having the intention to wear and that is a good sign. So we are seeing an upsurge in the use of face masks, and we hope that it will continue,” he revealed.

Per the breakdown, 57% of those observed in the Ayawaso West Wuogon area wore nose masks while 56% wore them in Korle Klottey.

In the Accra metropolis and the Ayawaso East municipality, only 39% of persons observed were in face masks.

The compliance level in Ga West was only 29%.

In terms of specific areas, the survey credited the University of Ghana and Okponglo areas as places where the highest level of compliance of wearing face masks was observed.

The areas where the lowest level of compliance were lorry stations, according to the survey.

This comes on the back of the order President Akufo-Addo gave the Police Service to enforce the mandatory wearing of the nose masks.

The Ghana Health Service urged Ghanaians to comply with the safety protocols to help contain the spread of the virus.

Freeman Koryekpor Awlesu /Greater Accra Regional Correspondent