Hapoel Haifa have handed a one-month trial to Ghanaian youngster Holyfield Djanie according to kickgh.com.
Djanie will be leaving Ghana to undergo trials at the Israeli Premier League side after the coronavirus outbreak.
The 20-year-old has been of the best performers at Kokrobite Sky FC this season and has attracted interest from several clubs in the Ghana Premier League including Accra Great Olympics, Liberty Professionals, Dreams FC and Hearts of Oak.
He was instrumental for the lower division side as he scored 17 goals after the second edition of the Betway Talent Hunt.
The highly-rated forward decided to move to the Israeli Premier League side despite interest from a lower-tier club in Italy.
He has received an invitation to the Ghana U-20 team following his impressive performance at Kokrobite Sky FC
There are 70 coronavirus vaccines in development globally, with three candidates already being tested in human trials, according to the World Health Organization, as drugmakers race to find a cure for the deadly pathogen.
The furthest along in the clinical process is an experimental vaccine developed by Hong Kong-listed CanSino Biologics Inc. and the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, which is in phase 2.
The other two being tested in humans are treatments developed separately by U.S. drugmakers Moderna Inc. and Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc., according to a WHO document.
Progress is occurring at unprecedented speed in developing vaccines as the infectious pathogen looks unlikely to be stamped out through containment measures alone. The drug industry is hoping to compress the time it takes to get a vaccine to market — usually about 10 to 15 years — to within the next year.
Drugmakers big and small have jumped in to try to develop a vaccine, which would be the most effective way to contain the virus. Pharmaceutical giants like Pfizer Inc. and Sanofi have vaccine candidates in the preclinical stages, according to the WHO document.
CanSino said last month it received Chinese regulatory approval to start human trials of its vaccine. Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Moderna — which has never put out a product — received regulatory approval to move quickly to human trials in March, skipping the years of animal trials that are the norm in developing vaccines. Inovio began its human trials last week.
One of the leading Ghanaian scientists helping us understand the novel coronavirus disease is Professor Gordon Akanzuwine Awandare of the School of Biochemistry and the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP) at the University of Ghana.
He, together with other leading scientists at the University of Ghana, has successfully sequenced the genome of the novel coronavirus disease by examining some 15 confirmed cases of the disease in the country.
Prof Awandare has been a leading light in research on many diseases in the country, especially the malaria parasite.
Born in Kandiga in the Kassena Nankana West District of the Upper East Region, Prof Awandare battled with recurring malaria as a child.
Defying all odds to have a good education, he obtained an a Bsc in Biochemistry from the University of Ghana in 1998 and an MSc in the same field in 2002 before obtaining his PhD in the area in 2007 from the University of Pittsburgh in the United States of America. His area of interest was the malaria parasite, inspired partly by his battle with the disease as a child.
Driven by patriotism, he returned to Ghana after spending three years in America contributing to knowledge there.
Prof Awandare took extraordinary steps to set up his own research group notwithstanding the lack of funds and other bottlenecks.
His major breakthrough came in 2013 when he led a consortium that secured funds to set up a new state of the art centre in the country to research into infectious pathogens. The consortium secured some $8 million from the World Bank, and Prof Awandare became the founding director of the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP) in 2013.
The Centre cutting edge research has ensured that it has secured several other funding to undertake research into many diseases.
He has received many awards for his excellence on research.
Thinking of what do after all this Coronavirus brouhaha is over?
Well Okyeame Kwame has reveled his saying he will organize the first ever party of his life.
The Rap Doctor took to his Instagram page and posted a beautiful photo of his family with a caption: “After this corona is overpowered, I will organize the first party of my life. We will call it the touch party.
Authorities at the Koforidua Prisons have quarantined a convict for observation over Coronavirus.
The decision is part of the preventive mechanisms being implemented by management of the facility to prevent the spread of Coronavirus into the Prison yard due to its precarious overcrowded condition.
Recently, about fourteen convicts who underwent similar mandatory quarantine were cleared by frontline health workers at the Infirmary before allowed to mingle with the inmates.
Other measures taken are that Prison Officers who commute with public transport to work have been asked to go on leave. Management has imposed restrictions on visiting allowing a slot of visit within two weeks for any visitor. All visitors are screened with a thermometer gun before allowed entry.
These were made known Sunday, April 12, 2020 by DSP Duncan Osarfo Darko an Official at the facility when Senior Prophet Bernard Opoku Nsiah Headpastor of Christian Redemption International Ministry at Koforidua- Osabane donated 12 bags of Rice, 8 bags of Maize, 4 bags of sugar, 3 bags of salt, 150 bags sachet water, quantities of toilet rolls, 20 boxes of Medicated soaps and 20 bags of washing powder all worth Gh10,000 to the Prison.
DSP Osarfo Darko commended the Church for the donation which he said will help improve the quality of meals they serve the inmates given that the inmates are still fed on Gh1.80p a day.
Senior Prophet Benard Opoku Nsiah said the Church chose the Prison for the donation due to the poor living conditions of inmates at the facility which makes it a very high-risk area for COVID-19.
He urged Prison authorities to do their possible best to ensure that the disease does not spread into the Prison.
Former Black Star striker Augustine Arhinful has disclosed that C.K Akunnor has all the qualities needed to succeed as a national team coach.
According to Arhinful, C.K knows all he has to do to be a successful Black Stars coach due to experience from his playing days.
Speaking to Accra based Joy FM, Ahinful said Akonnor can ink his name in Ghana football history by ending the nation’s AFCON trophy drought but it will take hard work.
“I only hope it can work well. CK has played professional football before and knows what to do to succeed. I told him before that national team football is a different animal. You look at the different egos and study them. You have to manage the different characters well. If CK brings the cup, he will be named in history,” he said.
“If we are destined to win the AFCON, we will win it. I believe that it will happen but we need to work at it too.”
CK Akonnor in early January was appointed as Black Stars coach on a two-year contract. The former Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko coach has been tasked to win the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations and also qualify the team to the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Markets in the Volta region which are close to the Eastern region have been shut down to avoid a spillover of covid-19 cases, Volta regional minister has said.
According to Archibald Yao Letsa, the move has been triggered by the rising numbers of covid-19 cases in the Eastern region.
The Dabala and Sogakope Markets in the South Tongu district have been shut, all markets in Ketu South have been shut, while the Adidome and Mafi Kumasi markets in the Central Tongu district have also been shut, the Minister told Francis Abban on the Morning Starr Monday.
According to the Regional Minister, the 6 cases in Ketu South are all foreigners who got into the country through unapproved routes and have been arrested and kept in quarantine.
In Hohoe, the cases include a 32-year old man who returned to Hohoe from Tema about two weeks ago and a 22-year old pregnant woman who returned to Hohoe from Ashiaman to deliver.
While in Ho, is a 48-year who developed symptoms after 12 days of returning to Ho from Accra; all three are clinically stable.
All these 3 cases confirmed from routine surveillance are not known contacts of Covid-19 cases.
Ningo-Prampram in the Greater Accra Region has recorded two cases of the deadly novel coronavirus cases.
They were part of 50 people whose samples were taken after they were identified as having come in contact with an infected person who was said to have visited the area recently.
Results of the samples from the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research in Accra on Sunday showed two of the 50 persons identified through contact tracing have contracted the virus.
The rest tested negative.
They have since been put in isolation.
Confirming the cases to 3news.com Monday morning, the District Director of Health said the two are in stable condition, saying they are “not sick, not paleâ€.
“We are assessing the situation to see which option to apply; whether to give them home-based care or put them isolation centre for treatment,†she stated.
She said immediately the cases were reported they began contact tracing for the two persons.
Meanwhile, the two cases are said to have been captured in the 566 covid-19 cases recorded in the country so far.
Community infections surpass imported cases
Figures released by the Ghana Health Service Sunday night showed that the number of people without travel history who have contracted the deadly novel coronavirus in Ghana has surpassed the number of imported cases.
A total of 66.6 per cent of the people with the virus in the country have no history of travel whatsoever while those with travel history is pegged at 33.4 per cent.
“Of the 566 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 292 were reported from the routine surveillance, 159 from enhanced surveillance activities and 115 from travellers under mandatory quarantine in both Accra and Tamale,†the Ghana Health Service explained on Sunday.
A total of 37,954 persons have been tested for the virus since March 12 of which 566 came out positive. Four of them have recovered and discharged.
Of the current positive cases, 552 cases have been categorised as mild while two are said to be moderate to severe cases.
The popular Juapong Market in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region has been closed down with immediate effect, the Volta Regional Coordinating Council (VRCC) has said.
The council also says discussions are underway with Municipal and District Assemblies to find lasting solutions on ways to enforce social distancing protocols during market days.
This has become necessary following the increase in COVID-19 case count in the Eastern Region — which shares boundaries with the Volta Region.
Unlike the Eastern region — which has recorded 23 cases —the Volta region is yet to record a case of the deadly COVID-19 virus.
In a statement dated April 10, the Volta Regional Coordinating Council outlined a number of measures to prevent the spread of the disease.
The statement said for instance that passengers who are entering the Volta region through parts of the North Tongu, South Tongu and North Dayi districts would be screened by medics.
“A multidisciplinary task force has been put in place to ensure that all private and commercial vehicles stick to the prescribed regulationsâ€, the VRCC said.
We have heard times without count how family means everything and on each count, we just shrug our shoulders.
When you have been messed up over and over again, you tend to have your very own form ideas on a family but the essence, a family indeed is everything.
At least people like Mercy Johnson are doing all they can to maintain this. Every other time Mercy Johnson lets us in on her family,
…we get an inch close to how marriage life could be beautiful, how parenting is not a bad idea after all and ultimately, how one can still be a family person and have a successful career.
Mercy is expecting baby number four and to mark the Easter Celebration, she shared a picture of herself, the hubby Prince Okojie and their three beautiful kids.
It is a simple picture of them in matching outfits but looks perfect in every sense of the word.
Mercy has the perfect family and we envy her for that!
Actress Juliet Ibrahim has given us so much to talk about this morning.
She shared a picture where she packed all her essential assets on a two-piece attire and that has ignited a flame on Instagram.
We all know the mother of one is endowed physically and in this picture, all of that goodness stared right into our faces.
She says she is doing what God said— she is allowing her light shine before men.
The mother of one joined the many female celebs to wish her Instagram family well this Easter season.
All we can concentrate on is how good she looks in this all-black ensemble.
The Coalition of NGOs in Health has appealed to government to make use of the social workers in its social intervention provisions in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic in Ghana.
According to the chairman of the coalition, Gabriel Banaku, social workers will have better ways of managing social interventions and will not allow crowds to gather in the distribution of food.
“The social workers are not involved; they are not using them. There are somethings happening that the social welfare people will not allow. This is not the time to see people with party colours sharing food and stuff,†he told Francis Abban on the Morning Starr.
Some Ghanaians have taken to social media to express concerns over the manner in which government is distributing food to the vulnerable in the lockdown areas. Videos on social media have shown crowds gather in queues for food and other items.
COVID-19 cases in Ghana have jumped to 566 from 408 as of Saturday evening.
The development means over 140 cases have been recorded over the last 24 hours.
According to Ghana Health Service, as of 11 April 2020, a total of 37,954 persons had been tested with 566 being positive for COVID-19. The breakdown of the 566 positive cases are as follows: four (4) have been treated, discharged and tested negative, 552 cases have been categorised as mild disease on treatment, two (2) moderate to severe cases, none currently on ventilators and eight (8) have died.
Of the 566 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 292 were reported from the routine surveillance, 159 from enhanced surveillance activities and 115 from travellers under mandatory quarantine in both Accra and Tamale.
Regions that have reported cases are Greater Accra, Ashanti, Central, Eastern, Western, Volta, Northern, North East, Upper East, and Upper Westâ€.
According to the GHS, the new cases were detected over the past twelve (12) days since the introduction of the enhanced surveillance.
Former Kumasi Asante Kotoko hitman, Sadick Adams has named Nigerian legend, Augustine Azuka popularly known as Jay-Jay Okoha as his role model.
Sadick Adams who has played for many teams like Atletico de Madrid in November 2007, Fk Vojvodina in Serbian SuperLiga in 2009, Etoile Sportive du Sahel in 2010, Al-Ansar in 2012, Berekum Chelsea, Saham and Asante Kotoko.
In November 2007, Sadick Adams was considered by World Soccer Magazine as one of the 50 Exciting Teenagers on the planet.
What most Kotoko supporters will remember him for his first-half hat trick against arch-rivals Hearts of Oak during the 2017 MTN FA Cup in Tamale where the Porcupines Warriors won by 3 goals to 1.
On his post on Facebook about questions and answers, “He replied Exclusive Crucial Obadia that Nigerian legend who was named one of the top 125 living footballers by Pele in March 2004 severs as his football mentor due to his style of play. He was swift and skilful playmaker who considered as the best African Players of all time.
“His confidence with the ball, techniques, creativity, dribbling skills, freekicks, and fairs always inspires me to works hard. I watched his videos to learn and equip things before I stepped out for training session,” he added.
The number of people without travel history who have contracted the deadly novel coronavirus in Ghana has surpassed the number of imported cases as the virus spreads to almost all parts of the country.
Figures from the Ghana Health Service revealed 66.6 per cent of the people with the virus in the country have no history of travel, while those with travel history is pegged at 33.4 per cent.
With just two first imported cases in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana has within four weeks recorded 566 coronavirus cases in 10 of the 16 regions with eight deaths.
“Of the 566 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 292 were reported from the routine surveillance, 159 from enhanced surveillance activities and 115 from travellers under mandatory quarantine in both Accra and Tamale,†the Ghana Health Service explained on Sunday.
A total of 37,954 persons have been tested for the virus since March 12 of which 566 came out positive. Four of them have recovered and discharged.
Of the current positive cases, 552 cases have been categorised as mild while two are said to be moderate to severe cases.
“None [is] currently on ventilators,†health authorities have said.
Meanwhile health officials have attributed the sudden increase in case number to intensive contact tracing and testing as well as other measures introduced by the government to stem the tide in the spread of the virus.
In a bid to stop community infections, the government announced a two-week partial lockdown in Accra, Kumasi, Tema and Kasoa which has since Sunday been extended by two more weeks.
Restrictions imposed on public gatherings have also been extended by two weeks.
“The restrictions imposed on public gatherings, under EI 64, have been extended for a further period of two (2) weeks, with effect from Monday, 13th April, 2020,†the statement said.
Celta Vigo defender Joseph Aidoo has seen his market value drop by a huge €1.5 million due to the coronavirus pandemic.
His market value was €8 million but it has now dropped to €6.5 million according to transfer market as the fight against the deadly coronavirus continues.
Aidoo joined the Spanish top-flight outfit in a huge five year deal from Belgium side Genk. He was signed for €8 million.
Due to the decline in player across the world, clubs have been forced to negotiate with their stars for pay cuts. Barcelona is one of them where the players have agreed to take 30% of their salaries to help keep the club running.
An Elder of the Church of Pentecost in Akasi District of the Ashanti Region has been confirmed dead by health officials of the Ankasi Government Hospital after two weeks of battling with gunshot injury.
The deceased, Elder Asante Nyamekye, a fortnight ago, was attacked by armed robbers while returning from work at the Methodist Hospital. He was a Laboratory Technician.
He in the process, sustained gunshot injury and was rushed to the Ankasi Government Hospital where he was admitted at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for two weeks before his sudden demise.
The body of the deceased has since been deposited at the Ankasi Government Hospital morgue.
The Ghana Police Service on Sunday warned henceforth any person found at any beach in Ghana will be arrested as part of measures to curtail the spread of the novel coronavirus.
A statement signed by Superintendent of Police Sheilla Kessie Abayie-Buckman, Director of Public Affairs, explained: “In accordance with the Imposition of Restrictions Act, 2020 (Act 1012) and consequential orders, the public is to note that gathering at any beach in Ghana amounts to an offenceâ€.
The law, however, exempts security service personnel or essential service providers whose presence at the beaches may be necessary to provide security or for public safety.
“All other persons found at any beach from now onward and within the period of imposition of restrictions on public gathering or movement will be arrested,†it cautioned.
The Police Administration advised the public to cooperate with it in the national interest.
Former Ghana coach James Kwasi Appiah has shed some light on his time at the helm of affairs, revealing some details of his last days in charge.
The 59-year-old led the Black Stars for a second stint between 2017 and 2019, his tenure ending in December when the Ghana Football Association (GFA) decided against extending his contract.
His last match assignment remains a 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying double-header against South Africa and Sao Tome and Principe in November.
“One thing that I know is that if you are fearful in taking decisions, accepting criticisms and facing sack on the Black Stars job, you are not going to be successful,” Appiah told Light FM.
“For instance, if you fear bringing in new good players to replace the old players, you are not going to do the country good.
“Even in our last game against South Africa, I included eight debutants and I was [asked] ‘do you know your job is at stake?’
“But I took the risk that if we got eliminated, the country would benefit from the new talent introduced in the future.”
Appiah first led the Black Stars between 2012 and 2014, with a poor performance at the 2014 World Cup leading to the end of his tenure.
In 2017, he was handed a second chance to make amends but a disappointing Round of 16 elimination at the 2019 Afcon in Egypt would lead to another disappointing exit.
Former Black Stars and Wolfsburg captain CK Akonnor has since replaced Appiah as Ghana coach.
All National Democratic Congress (NDC) party vehicles in the North Tongu Constituency in the Volta Region have been rebranded with messages on COVID-19 and have been made available for use by COVID-19 Outreach Teams in the fight against the deadly virus.
Announcing the development on Facebook, Member of Parliament(MP)for the Constituency Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa noted that the gesture is to enable the teams to engage in intensive public education on the virus, insisting that party organization and other activities at the constituency have been put on hold as they fight against COVID-19 continues.
He revealed that making the vehicles available for the fight is in fulfilment of the advice given by the NDC flagbearer John Dramani Mahama.
“Happy to rebrand all our NDC party vehicles and make them available to COVID-19 public health outreach teams in my beloved constituency.
Party organization on the ground can wait and must give way to intensive public education as our flagbearer has admonished.
Life first,†Mr Ablakwa revealed on Facebook while wishing all and sundry a Happy Easter.
The Government of Ghana has taken drastic measures to contain the novel coronavirus as cases keep increasing.
Current case count stands at 408 with contact tracing and testing still ongoing.
Following GhanaWeb’s report that some Ghanaians had thronged the beaches to enjoy the Easter Sunday celebration, the Ghana Police Service has issued a press release to inform Ghanaians that gathering at any beach in Ghana amounts to an offence.
Any persons who flout this rule will be arrested, the police explained.
According to the police service, the prohibition of persons from all beaches in the country is in accordance with the Imposition of Restrictions Act 2020 (ACT 1012).
In the press release signed by the Director of Public Affairs, Superintendent Sheilla Kessie Abayie-Buckman, the police stated that “with the exception of security service personnel or essential service providers whose presence at the beaches may be necessary to provide security or for public safety, all other persons found at any beach from now onward and within the period of imposition on the public gathering or movement, will be arrestedâ€.
Meanwhile, the police service is encouraging the general public to cooperate with them and other security services to help curb the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus.
Earlier today, GhanaWeb reported that hundreds of people had gathered at the Chorkor beach in Accra to have fun as the country celebrates Easter Sunday.
GhanaWeb lenses captured persons who had visited the place – mostly youth who looked poised to have fun – were seen swimming, whilst others played football with their cliques.
Though there were no policemen parading the area at the time of GhanaWeb’s visit, the news team observed that the roads were deserted but, the beach was full of people.
Read below the statement from the Ghana Police Service.
The Executive Secretary of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) has described as encouraging news that scientists from the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research and the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP) have successfully sequenced the genome responsible for the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Dr Prince Hamid Armah who is also a Lecturer at the University of Education, Winneba and a Parliamentary Aspirant for Kwesimintsim said the breakthrough “is a major step in the search for a cure or vaccine and will guide the work of scientists all over the world.â€
While applauding the University of Ghana for this major feat, Dr Armah said the universities must devote more attention to their “research function, a vital part of their mandate. This would not only extend the frontiers of scholarship but provide vital data to guide public policy drafting and decision making.â€
The Kwesimintim MP aspirant who is also a researcher challenged other institutions of higher learning to get involved in the search for solutions to COVID-19 and other public health crisis.
The discovery by the scientist in the University of Ghana is important because it provides useful information about the genetic composition of the viral strains, at least as far the Ghanaian cases are concerned.
According to the UG scientists, they analysed samples of 15 confirmed cases in Ghana to gain a comprehensive understanding of the variations of the virus present in Ghana.
Background
The SARS-CoV-2 genome was rapidly sequenced by Chinese researchers. It is an RNA molecule of about 30,000 bases containing 15 genes, including the S gene which codes for a protein located on the surface of the viral envelope (for comparison, our genome is in the form of a double helix of DNA about 3 billion bases in size and contains about 30,000 genes).
Comparative genomic analyses have shown that SARS-CoV-2 belongs to the group of Betacoronaviruses and that it is very close to SARS-CoV, responsible for an epidemic of acute pneumonia which appeared in November 2002 in the Chinese province of Guangdong and then spread to 29 countries in 2003. A total of 8,098 cases were recorded, including 774 deaths. It is known that bats of the genus Rhinolophus (potentially several cave species) were the reservoir of this virus and that a small carnivore, the palm civet (Paguma larvata), may have served as an intermediate host between bats and the first human cases.
The University of Ghana discovery found that “while there were some differences between the strains from different countries all the 15 geromes [in Ghana] generally resembled (with 92% similarity) the reference strain that was isolated in the Wuhan province of China where the outbreak began.â€
Dr Armah congratulated the University of Ghana for the feat and also called on other institutions to go further, including investigating the efficacy of local herbal medicines in dealing with this virus and other illnesses that currently confound conventional treatments.
The full statement is as follows
We must all be encouraged by the fantastic news from the University of Ghana, where a local team of scientists at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research and the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP) have successfully sequenced the genome responsible for the COVID-19 global pandemic.
This breakthrough is a major step in the search for a cure or vaccine and will guide the work of scientists all over the world. The achievement shows that our local institutions of higher learning can and should perform their research function, a vital part of their mandate. This would not only extend the frontiers of scholarship but provide vital data to guide public policy drafting and decision making.
It must also challenge other centres of higher learning to participate in the search for solutions to public health and other challenges through rigorous research and application of data.
I congratulate the University of Ghana for this great feat and I call on it and our other institutions to go further, including investigating the efficacy of local herbal medicines in dealing with this virus and other illnesses that currently confound conventional treatments.
The Chief Executive Officer of Atta-Mills Institute, Koku Anyidoho has reiterated the need for Ghanaians to stop politicising the deadly coronavirus outbreak.
The former deputy general secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has been tweeting and calling on Ghanaians to collectively fight the outbreak as it knows no political colour, race, sex or personality.
Mr. Anyidoho, who has lost an uncle to the novel virus said, he would not play politics with it because it is real.
According to him, the world is not playing politics with the virus that has affected over 1.6 million people and killed 99,690 people.
His tweet read: “I’ve chosen not to play politics with COVID-19 because the World is not playing politics with it. Also from a very personal level, an uncle of mine has lost his life in London to it. Let us not play politics with it lest we live to regret. Blessed Easter Sunday to one and all.â€
He has earlier penned an article in which he suggested that â€From a sociological functionalist perspective, this Virus is going to teach us critical lessons for the good of our own human existence.â€
He also congratulated the President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his government for not panicking and being very cautious in its lockdown policies so they do not end up doing more harm than good.
The article also sent tons of thanks to the Ghana Health Service, House of Chiefs, Faith-based Organisations, Financial Institutions, the media, and Ghanaians for uniting behind a common agenda to fight COVID-19.
Former President John Mahama has called on the scientists working on covid-19 management in Ghana to project the peak period of infections in Ghana.
According to him, knowing the trend of the data will enable Ghanaians better appreciate what to expect in the coming days and therefore calm nerves.
“We need to project quickly, what the expected peaking of infection will be, and when we will begin to see a flattening of the curve on new infections and hospitalizations.
“From the latest statistics and escalation in numbers, it is clear we are in a difficult spot in the battle to contain COVID-19. But together we can overcome the uncertainties of the moment. The latest revelation that 57.1% of infected persons have no history of foreign travel is particularly worrisome. It implies that we may have begun to experience community transmission of the virus,†Mr. Mahama wrote.
In his latest article on the lockdown in Accra and Kumasi, Mr. Mahama reiterated the need for the country to another major research centre in the northern region.
“While our minds are focused on fighting COVID-19, I would like to start a conversation about strategic plans and investments that will address future pandemics. As I have already suggested there is the need for a National Infectious Disease Response Plan that clearly sets out the specific steps to be taken to prevent the entry of such diseases, quickly arrest them at a very early stage even if they do enter our shores and reduce their impact to the barest minimumâ€.
The Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference, says the novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has taught the world the value of brotherhood and the significance of showing love to all people irrespective of religion, race, gender, background or status.
“The Coronavirus has brought new consciousness to humanity, making us see ourselves as one family that is helping each other, to fight a common enemy.
“Each day people donate to help others. The pandemic has brought a new consciousness of brotherhood of humanity. We hope that it continues because, what is the use of having everything, when somebody is not having anything.â€
The Most Reverend John Bonaventure Kwofie, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, while reiterating the position and recommendation of the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference on COVID-19.
He said although churches, individuals and corporate entities were helping deprived people already, the generosity had greatly aroused as a result of COVID-19, which was highly commendable.
In his Easter message, Most. Rev. Kwofie, advised Christians not to live in fear amid the pandemic, but strengthen their faith as they celebrated the resurrection of Christ.
He also urged them to seek spiritual empowerment from God and dedicate themselves to be commissioners of his good news, saying, people needed to know God the more in this trying times.
The Archbishop believed COVID-19 was not a curse on humanity, and expressed optimism that God was using the challenging moment to turn things around for the better across the globe.
“Would we have fumigated our markets and maintained good personal hygiene if coronavirus had not set in? God is bringing the world to a new dimension. It has enhanced digitisation of our educational system, and the health system will become better after COVID-19,†he said.
He urged everyone engulfed in sin to mend his or her ways, saying, they died with Christ as sinners and had resurrected with him, hence the need to embrace a better and godly life.
Most Rev. Kwofie encouraged the citizenry to join forces as a big family to uproot the COVID-19 by adhering to the necessary precautions set by the Ghana Health Service and the President, especially the social distancing protocol.
He also prayed for knowledge and protection for frontline workers of COVID-19 cases worldwide.
Apostle Professor Samuel Asuming-Brempong, Chairman, Great Commission Church International (GCCI), has cautioned Christians that the COVID-19 pandemic is real and must adhere to the recommended safety measures to contain it.
He said measures such as maintaining social distancing, regular hand washing with soap under running water and the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers were essential for preventing the spread of the COVID-19.
Apostle Asuming-Brempong made the appeal on Sunday in his Easter Message to the GCCI via Facebook, which was monitored by the Ghana News Agency in Accra.
Apostle Asuming-Brempong had to resort to the use of the Facebook live to reach out to his congregants with his Easter Message, because of the band on social gathering as part of efforts to contain the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
He advised Christians and Ghanaians in general to adhere to the presidential directives aimed at containing the COVID-19 pandemic.
Apostle Asuming-Brempong said the resurrection of Christ would put a stop all COVID-19 pandemic; stating that “with Christ in our boat, we will always smile at the storm”.
“Please take good care of yourselves. Observe hygienic conditions for yourselves and family. Save yourselves (from COVID-19). Stay at home.”
Apostle Asuming-Brempong urged Christians to do their part and God would save them from the COVID-19 pandemic.
He also appealed to Christians to continue to trust in God in all things.
Some 45 persons, mostly young men and women are arrested by the Police in Dzodze, the municipal capital of Ketu North Municipal Assembly of the Volta Region for violating the ban on social gathering.
The arrested persons were said to be having a party and swimming in a pool at a guesthouse in the afternoon of yesterday, Sunday, April 12 when the Police batched into the surprise of many including the guesthouse owner who is also arrested.
The arrest was made on the orders of the Municipal Chief Executive of the area, Hon. Anthony Avorgbedor who had a hint of the reckless activities of the youths going on in the guesthouse.
The 45 persons have since been released from the Police custody in exception of the owner of the guesthouse whom the MCE said has been warned not to allow such activities to be going on in his guesthouse in these difficult times but failed to adhere to the warnings.
The MCE however, said that the guesthouse owner will be released today, April 13 after spending the night at the Police custody.
He further indicated that education on the COVID-19 pandemic in the Municipality will continue unabated, citing the geographical location of the Municipal Assembly as one of the reasons since the assembly shares boundaries with the Republic of Togo and Ketu South Municipal Assembly which has recorded six cases of the Coronavirus.
A private health facility at Walewale in the North East Region has been closed down after the facility recorded a COVID-19 death on Friday, April 10, 2020.
The deceased a 21-year old asthmatic patient was rushed to the hospital by his parents.
Upon reaching the hospital, health officials saw signs and symptoms of the coronavirus and a test was conducted on him.
But he died barely four hours later even before the test result was ready.
Health authorities in the region have closed down the said facility and contact tracing has begun to help prevent the spread of the virus.
Meanwhile, the family of the deceased has rejected the test result conducted by the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research.
Describing the test results as “fake†the family has, therefore, refused to cooperate with contact tracing efforts by health authorities in the region.
Majority of them have also refused to go into self-quarantine as advised by the authorities.
The family is also asking the management of the Walewale Hospital to step down for poor handling of the case.
As of April 10, 2020, 23:00 HRS, a total of 27,346 persons have been tested with 408 being positive for COVID-19 in Ghana.
The breakdown of the 408 positive cases are as follows: four (4) have been treated, discharged and have tested negative, 394 cases have been categorised as mild disease on treatment, two (2) moderate to severe cases, none currently on ventilators and eight (8) have died.
Of the 408 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 205 were reported from the routine surveillance, 88 from enhanced surveillance activities and 115 from travellers under mandatory quarantine in both Accra and Tamale.
A worker with Meridian Port Services (MPS), a port management company at the Tema Port is suspected to have contracted the novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Fortunately, the person is healthy and showing no sign or little symptoms of sickness.
However, the person has been placed in self-quarantine awaiting the test result.
Family members, as well as persons who have come in close contact with him, have also been tested to ascertain their status as the person is being monitored by health officials and the GPHA Inter-agency COVID-19 Committee as well as the District COVID-19 teams.
MPS together with Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) and the relevant health authorities are said to be vigilant towards the potential of any COVID-19 cases amongst the port users.
The vigilance led to the identification of the suspected COVID-19 case within Terminal 3.
Meanwhile, officials have reportedly put in place the necessary precautionary measures to curtail any future contraction or spread.
Omanhene of Gomoa Akyempim Traditional Council, Obrifo Ahunako Ahor Ankobea II has charged the citizens of the traditional area to report individuals who will sell running water to the Police or the Traditional Council.
Speaking with Adom News after the traditional council donated PPE to the Gomoa West District Health Committee, the Omanhene noted that individuals who are reported will be dealt with in accordance with the law.
This comes after President Nana Akufo-Addo in his fifth televised address said government will absorb all water bill for the three months, that is, April, May June.
The President explained that the directive is to provide relief to the public in these critical times when Covid-19 is taking a toll on the financial state of citizens and the country.
The Gomoa Omanhene expressed his gratitude to the President for taking such a thoughtful step to help Ghanaians.
Stressing on the need to make water free for everyone, he said individuals who will continue to sell their water are the “biggest enemy to the state†and therefore must be seriously punished.
He promised that the Traditional Council will sanction any person found selling water to serve as a deterrent to others.
Omanhene also called on all Ghanaians to support the government to fight Covid-19 by adhering to all the safety measures announced by the Ghana Health Service.
Meanwhile, Gomoa West District Chief Executive Bismarck Nkum appealed to landlords to give their tenants whose rents are due a two-month grace period since sacking someone amid the pandemic could be very dangerous.
The Christian community across the world is marking the resurrection of Christ Jesus, the distinctive event, underpinning their faith to spend eternity with God.
The Bible gives many accounts that justify the belief that Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, is the only man who continues to live, having been resurrected by God, three days after His crucifixion death to reconcile sinful man with God.
For instance, the Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8: “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance. Or you at the first: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas. That is, Peter and then to the Twelve.
“After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born”.
Paul also assures faithful Christians of their own resurrection in 1 Corinthians 6:14: “And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power”.
Easter has, therefore, been immemorially marked by Ghanaian worshippers, clad in white attires with joyous early morning services to celebrate the victory of Christ over death and the power of God over Satan.
“Christ is risen, Alleluia, He is risen, indeed!” become their common greeting and exchange for Easter Sunday.
The event is also marked with praise and worship concerts and conventions.
However, with the lockdown measures being implemented by governments across the world and the importance of observing social distancing, Christians are marking the day with family and very small congregations.
The measures are to limit the spread and the socio-economic disruption of novel coronavirus, which has since the end of December 2019, infected more than 1.7 million people and killed more than 100,000 across the world.
The clergy are thus using traditional and online platforms to reach Christians with messages of faith, love, hope, victory, resilience and more, to strengthen their commitment to the cause of the Kingdom of God.
Many pastors have urged the faithful to use the stay home period to honour their fasting, prayer and meditation obligations to draw them closer to God and receive more of His power to impact the world.
They should also show compassion to the vulnerable and poor as Christ did, bond with their family members and generate new ideas that would make them more productive when the situation normalizes.
The Chairman of the Christian Council, the Most Reverend Dr. Paul Kwabena Boafo, has said the change in the nature of delivering liturgies and absence of church congregations do not negate the essence of Easter.
He explained that Easter and all Christian celebrations were best observed spiritually in the heart, “hence the season does not lose its power without the usual outdoor activitiesâ€.
In a message to mark the Easter festivity, the Most Rev Boafo, reiterated that Easter was all about Jesus Christ “who is risen from the deadâ€.
“Easter is a real celebration of the Risen Lord and what makes this season worth celebrating is the fact that Jesus who was declared dead after the crucifixion on Good Friday was raised on the third day,” he explained.
“Easter is no doubt the high day in the cycle of Christian worship. But it is not the specific day of celebration that brings Christians together but Jesus Christ who gathers us unto Himself”.
Theologians put the earliest recorded observance of Easter in the 2nd Century, though it is believed it could have been marked much earlier than that.
Christian churches in the West celebrate Easter on the first Sunday following the full moon after the vernal equinox on March 21.
Therefore, Easter is observed anywhere from March 22 to April 25 every year.
However, Orthodox Christians use the Julian calendar to calculate when Easter will occur and typically celebrate the holiday a week or two after the Western churches, which follow the Gregorian calendar.
Meanwhile, many Christians in Ghana are also using social media to share messages to celebrate the Risen Christ and renew their hope of being reconciled with him in eternal life.
The Municipal Chief Executive for North Ayawaso, Aminu Mohammed Zakari, has confirmed some 30 cases of Coronavirus in the constituency.
Citing information he received from a just-ended meeting in a live broadcast Sunday afternoon, he indicated that 10 of the recorded cases are in critical condition.
Areas including Newtown, Mamobi and Nima were mentioned as specific areas where the virus has affected.
The UK is likely to be among the European countries worst affected by coronavirus, one of the government’s senior scientific advisers has said.
The warning, from Sir Jeremy Farrar, comes as UK deaths from the virus are expected to pass 10,000 on Sunday.
In response, Business Secretary Alok Sharma said countries were on “different trajectories”.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been discharged from hospital after being treated for coronavirus.
On the advice of his medical team, Mr Johnson will not immediately return to work and will continue his recovery at his country residence, Chequers, a No 10 spokesman said.
He had three nights in intensive care before returning to a general ward on Thursday.
On Saturday, the UK recorded 917 new coronavirus deaths, taking the total number of hospital deaths to 9,875.
The figure does not include deaths outside of hospitals, such as in care homes or in the community.
Ministers are continuing to urge people to stay at home over the Easter weekend to curb the spread of the virus, despite warm and sunny weather across parts of the UK.
Wellcome Trust director Sir Jeremy Farrar told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show the UK was likely to be “one of the worst, if not the worst affected country in Europe”.
Currently Italy has the highest number of deaths of any European country – with more than 19,000 deaths – followed by Spain, France and the UK, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Germany has kept deaths below 3,000 so far.
Sir Jeremy, a member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show the “remarkable” scale of testing in Germany had been key to keeping the number of hospital admissions for coronavirus lower than in the UK.
Sir Jeremy said testing allowed countries to isolate people with Covid-19, preventing them from transmitting the virus to others, as well as buying time for hospitals to prepare.
“Undoubtedly there are lessons to learn from that,” he added.
The UK government has said it wants to do 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of April but has faced criticism for not increasing the number more quickly.
Sir Jeremy said a second or third wave of the virus “was probably inevitable” and treatment and a vaccine was “our only true exit strategy”.
He said a vaccine could be available by autumn but it would take longer to ramp up manufacturing to the scale required to vaccinate many millions of people.
“I would hope we would get [that] done in 12 months but that is in itself an unprecedented ambition,” he said.
Asked whether he agreed with Sir Jeremy’s analysis of the UK’s death rate, Business Secretary Alok Sharma said: “Different countries are at different stages of this cycle.”
“What we have done with the advice that we have now set out to people, to stay at home, is precisely because we want to make sure that we have a flattening of the curve, that infection rates aren’t going up, and ultimately people’s lives are being saved,” he told the programme.
“We are starting to see these measures work,” he added, but said it was too early for them to be lifted yet.
Prof Keith Neal, emeritus professor in the epidemiology of infectious diseases at the University of Nottingham, said it was likely the UK would have one of the largest numbers of coronavirus deaths because it had the second largest population in western Europe after Germany.
“The important figure is the death rate per million and not the total number of deaths. On this count Belgium seems to be heading for a serious
Africa has passed the grim milestone of 10,000 reported cases of coronavirus, along with more than 500 deaths, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (ACDC).
As the daily number of new infections appears to be falling in parts of the world, some fear the epicentre of the virus could move to the continent.
Despite efforts to lock down cities and countries, despite donations of protective equipment, testing kits and ventilators from China, one thing is clear: Africa has not yet flattened the curve and the room for manoeuvre is getting smaller.
‘Delay in action’
“What we are seeing is that this opportunity is no longer there or almost not there for some countries,” says Dr Michel Yao, who runs the emergency response programme for the World Health Organization (WHO) in Africa.
“The worry is also now that [countries] cannot adequately manage this phase, they are moving to [in country transmission]. But we are seeing there is some delay in addressing [this]… to mobilise more people, train more people, think about capacity.”
Image copyrightAFPImage captionThe lockdown in South Africa means that the number of shoppers in supermarkets are restricted
It is difficult to compare regions with different cultures, economies, travel links and infrastructure, but some comparisons paint an urgent picture.
In studying the daily increases in the number of those who have tested positive for coronavirus around the world, Africa appears to be controlling the spread better than in the US and Europe so far.
But the comparison with Asia, where some countries appeared to reduce the daily increase in the number of new cases relatively quickly, does not fare so well.
Spreading in communities
Perhaps a better comparison could be with the Middle East. There, cases have steadily risen, along with deaths, and the region has now recorded more than 78,000 cases in total, according to the WHO.
Nearly every African country has reported cases, and while most began with patients bringing the virus in through international travel, it is now spreading within communities.
Different variables make predictions difficult, but the worst-case scenarios are still jarring. “Cases can easily pick up,” Dr Yao says, “even triple, maybe multiply by seven to 10 from what we have right now”
In South Africa, the last two weeks of March saw a 20-fold increase in the number of confirmed cases. In response to the growing numbers, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a country-wide three-week lockdown that began on 27 March.
He has since extended that to the end of April as the number of daily new cases has dropped – though it is too early to say conclusively if the lockdown the reason.
What is significant is the rise in testing capabilities in South Africa.
Image copyrightEPAImage captionSouth Africa has mobile testing units to try and test as many people as possible
The country has so far conducted around 60,000 tests for Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, and is now testing at a rate of nearly 5,000 a day, according to Health Minister Zweli Mkhize.
But compared to other countries in the grip of the virus, that amount is still woefully inadequate. Italy – one the hardest hit countries in the world – has a similar population to South Africa and has conducted more than 700,000 tests.
Testing numbers are even more worrying across the rest of Africa.
Image copyrightAFPImage captionIn Kenya, health workers have been testing people who have been put in quarantine
Nigeria and Kenya have each conducted around 5,000 tests. Compare that with 600,000 in South Korea, who many see as having waged the strongest campaign against the virus.
“We are seeing an increase in the number of tests but I think we could do much more,” argues Dr Abdhallah Ziraba, a research scientist and epidemiologist at the African Population and Health Research Center.
Testing bottlenecks
African countries have been fighting hard to raise their testing capacity.
Health ministries have worked to convert private laboratories into Covid-19 testing centres and major laboratories like the Pasteur Institute in Dakar have – through the ACDC-organised Covid-19 training seminars for laboratories around the region.
Still it has not been enough.
Bottlenecks in the supplies of reagents necessary for testing have limited capacity.
Chinese billionaire Jack Ma recently announced donations of more than one million sample extraction kits to African countries. It is unclear whether the full testing package will be included, but if so, the donation could prove critical to boosting tests continent-wide.
“We know there are challenges around the development of the tests, the cost of the test and the logistics involved but we can’t be complacent and just think that people are not going to die,” says Dr Ziraba.
According to a study written by epidemiologists in London and Johannesburg, a single reported death could mean a country already has hundreds or even thousands of cases.
The more tests that can be conducted, the more confident the continent can be in its data and the systems it has in place to fight the rising tide.
One of the major problems Africa will face in the coming weeks is exactly how to fight the virus.
So far South Africa’s lockdown strategy has shown signs of promise. Other countries have followed suit.
Africa’s most-populous country, Nigeria, has locked down Lagos, restricting movement to essential activities.
Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionSanitation workers have sprayed disinfectant into mosques in Senegal’s capital, Dakar, to help prevent the spread of coronavirus
One suburb of the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kinshasa, has followed suit.
Dakar in Senegal and Nairobi in Kenya have imposed curfews, allowing people to continue working but preventing social activity and travelling at night.
The spectre of a total lockdown however risks a complete halt of economic activity across the continent.
More than a third of the population of the continent lives below the poverty line. While most of those live in rural areas and potentially have access to subsistence farming, around 20% live in urban areas, relying on casual labour to feed themselves and their family.
Risk of malnutrition
If it proves necessary to completely cut them off from jobs and markets, the potential death toll is unknown.
“Economic recession and deteriorating livelihoods mean impoverishment, malnutrition, worsened access to routine health services, and that in turn all means lives lost as well,” says Dr Francesco Checci, a professor of epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
“Lives lost not just among the old but also among children and younger people. So there is a really difficult equation there.”
Countries like Rwanda have started to distribute food and resources in anticipation of those consequences. In Cape Town, in South Africa, even notorious street gangs have begun to help distribute food.
Media captionHow coronavirus inspired a gangland truce in South Africa
In other countries, the plan is less clear.
In Kenya, civil society groups have started collecting funds and food for lower income families. Ethiopia has declared a state of emergency, despite Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed recently saying that “we can’t impose a lockdown like more developed nations, as there are many citizens who don’t have homes”.
African nations have limited resources to replace the incomes of their citizens. Those difficulties again highlight the importance of testing.
“If we can test and have a more localised strategic approach to restricting movement that would really help resources,” says Dr Ngozi Erondu, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the Chatham House think-tank.
“I think we can be more creative about which villages can go to markets on which days doing rotations so that there are less densely populated areas.”
Image copyrightBADRU KATUMBAImage captionMarket traders in Uganda have been told to sleep by their stalls to prevent the spread of coronavirus
Ultimately, it will be the efforts and resources deployed by African countries themselves that determine the course of the outbreak
“Governments need to invest in this, you can’t tell people to stay away from work and make sure you stay hygienic when you don’t give them a way to do so,” says Dr Erondu.
“We really will start seeing if these lockdown measures, these quarantine measures – if they’re actually working towards the end of April.”
By last Tuesday, the death toll from coronavirus in New York City had passed that of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center.
The figure was reached only three weeks after the first coronavirus death in the city.
The outbreak has placed New York at the centre of the global pandemic and put an unprecedented strain on the city’s emergency workers and frontline staff.
Over the course of Tuesday, six of those people – two doctors, an undertaker, two senior care home staff and a food delivery worker – kept diaries of their day and shared them with the BBC.
This is their story.
Midnight, Tuesday 7 April
Kathleen Flanagan returns from a late shift at a nursing home. The TV is on in the living room, playing the sitcom That ’70s Show. As has become the custom in her household she shouts “Hello” to let her family know that she is home and to make sure they avoid contact with her.
She heads downstairs into the laundry room, takes off her clothes and showers.
Everything she has worn at work must go into the washing machine before she sees her husband and children.
When she heads back up the stairs, she is greeted by a bouquet of sunflowers in the kitchen. A card from her eight-year-old son reads: “Keep kicking butt Mom!”
Two of her three sons are asleep on the couch waiting for her. She cooks eggs and spinach for dinner and shares details of her day with her husband – the good news is that coronavirus patients in one of the centres she oversees are starting to look better, but in another the situation is getting worse.
She opens her laptop to do some work and falls asleep somewhere between 01:00 and 02:00.:57
Doctor Jennifer Haythe is woken by a call from the intensive care unit at her hospital, letting her know about a Covid-19 patient whose condition is deteriorating.
The 46-year-old hangs up the phone and tosses and turns in bed, worrying about the patient. She rethinks the plan for them and then is met by the increasingly familiar feeling of loneliness.
‘Like 9/11 every day’: A New York paramedic’s diary
Like many healthcare professionals working with coronavirus patients, Jennifer is living separately from her family. She is staying in an apartment in Greenwich Village, while her husband and children are in their house upstate.
Faced with an eerie silence outside and missing her loved ones, she does a deep breathing exercise: “In for four, hold for seven, out for eight.” It must work because she falls asleep.
02:00
Outside the city, in the New York state town of Corinth, Faith Willett, a director of nursing at a care home, is woken by a member of staff reporting a high fever. She advises her to self-isolate and contact a doctor as soon as possible.
Faith feels sick and struggles to fall back to sleep. She scrolls through her phone to see the latest news on the coronavirus outbreak, paying close attention to local updates that might be worrying residents and their families.
In deserted Times Square, a Muslim woman prays on Tuesday The news feels so surreal that the 46-year-old nurse wonders if she’s asleep. She wakes her husband to ask if she’s dreaming. “No, babes, you’re awake,” he replies. He tells her to get some rest.After a few hours of disturbed sleep, she wakes to her alarm. She grabs her computer and scans the latest updates from her colleagues. She can breathe a sigh of relief. There are no confirmed cases – for now.
05:00
Funeral director Steven Baxter is already out of the house. His hours have completely changed since the virus struck, as he and funeral workers across New York struggle to keep up with the rising number of fatalities.
The days of wearing a suit to work are gone. He now dons “scrubs” that he can throw out afterwards, without risking cross-contamination. The trainers he wears to work are always kept outside.
He sets off to a nursing home, where he has to collect the body of yet another coronavirus victim. It is the first of several such visits he will have to make that day.
06:30
Back in Greenwich Village, doctor Jennifer Hayth wakes up to her alarm. She opens her eyes with the fleeting hope that the past few weeks have been a bad dream.
She has a shower and gets ready for work. There are no dogs for her to walk, no husband to kiss goodbye and no children to prepare breakfast for.
She heads to a coffee shop where a woman walking her dog notices her doctor’s uniform and thanks her. In the cafe, the only other customer – a retired police officer – pays for her coffee.
The Cat Stevens song Peace Train comes on the radio as she drives to work at Columbia University Medical Center. She hasn’t heard it for a while and it makes her feel energised. She looks over the highway at the USNS Comfort – a Navy hospital ship docked in New York City where coronavirus patients are being treated – and thinks to herself that it seems almost majestic.
Arriving at work, she puts on her mask, gown, gloves and other equipment required for working with coronavirus patients and heads over for another day in the ICU.
07:00
Nurse Kathleen Flanagan wakes to a hug from her eight-year-old son. Before she leaves the house, he performs a dance to the song High Hopes by the band Panic! At the Disco.
She listens to it again in the car, applying the lyrics to her own life.
Mama said don’t give up, it’s a little complicated…
Had to have high, high hopes for a living
As she listens to the song, she passes the traffic light where last month she received a phone call that changed everything. A colleague at a nursing and rehabilitation centre in New York City told her that two residents had fevers and respiratory symptoms – the first signs of coronavirus in any of the six facilities she oversees.
She was heading to a different centre at the time and was faced with the decision of whether to help remotely or change her plans and put herself on the frontlines of the outbreak. She turned her car around.
Her normal job does not include direct patient care. But three weeks later, she continues to take a hands-on role at the centres with coronavirus patients in spite of the risks.
08:45
At another nursing home in Glens Falls, New York, Faith Willett has been at work for about an hour and there is already cause for concern.
Before leaving the house this morning, she said her personal mantra aloud to herself in the shower: “We’ve got this.” Like every day in recent weeks, she hoped there would be no signs of coronavirus in the centre.
But as a nurse walked out of a resident’s room during the routine morning checks, Faith could tell from her eyes it was bad news – the resident had a high temperature and was getting short of breath while reading her Bible.
Image captionCoronavirus has forced carers like Faith Willett to go against all their natural instincts
All the staff at the home know this might end up being the day the virus made its way in. Masks need to be issued and the door to the resident’s room must be closed, with only designated caregivers in full protective equipment allowed in.
Faith considers the order.
You should never close a door to a resident’s room unless they ask you to – it’s a violation of their rights; it’s forced isolation; it’s mistreatment, she thinks. But she reminds herself that they must go against all their instincts as caregivers to save lives.
A nurse in full protective equipment goes into the room to perform the test. There are tears in the nurse’s eyes but they soften as she walks in. She completes the test, packages it and takes it to the lab. Faith admires the woman’s bravery for being able to do it.
09:00
Steven Baxter is sorting through death certificates and other documentation at Gannon Funeral Home in Manhattan. The phone line has just opened so he is preparing for another day of calls from families who have lost loved ones to the virus.
The 53-year-old recently converted the chapel in the funeral home into a morgue. He has a rule: the dead need to be treated with respect and given adequate space. But the number of bodies coming in is hard to keep up with.
Later today he will need to take the bodies of eight Covid-19 patients to be cremated, and to chase a supplier about cremation boxes, which are increasingly in short supply.
It will be about three weeks before the person he collected this morning can be cremated – the pandemic has put a strain on the system, creating major backlogs.
All his days are merging into one at the moment. The “removal” this morning was like any other in the time of coronavirus – he put on a respirator and other protective equipment, and used disinfectant spray as he worked to ensure he was safely transferring the body.
09:34
People not directly on the frontline are also performing critical jobs to prevent the virus spreading.
Since the pandemic began, doctor Michael Morgenstern has swapped his subway commute for a walk upstairs. This morning, he logs on to video conferencing platform Zoom for his first appointment of the day.
Many of his patients are elderly and part of his role now is explaining the risks of coronavirus to them, and the precautions they should take.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionPeople queue at a food distribution centre in Harlem
The first patient wants to go out and visit two other doctors. Michael asks the son, who is also on the call, to try to see if the appointments can be conducted over the phone or through a video platform.
He is concerned about people exposing themselves to the virus and has spent much of his morning up to now working on a petition calling for the public to wear non-medical face masks, in line with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control.
He repeats the mantra “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” to himself as he works.
His legs shake as he begins his second appointment of the day. He’s nervous about what’s happening in the world.
10:00
Faith Willett gets a call from the nurse who fell ill – she can’t get tested and has instead been labelled “presumed positive”.
Faith is angry about the lack of testing for a frontline worker. She worries that the residents may have been exposed and then finds herself wondering – selfishly, she thinks – if she too might have been.
Five other people working at the home have been tested for Covid-19 because of symptoms – four were negative and the fifth is pending.
Faith and her colleagues all worry about the same thing: they don’t want to be the person who brings the virus into the facility.
11:00
At another nursing and rehabilitation home, Kathleen Flanagan has spent much of the morning checking on residents with coronavirus symptoms.
The hospital calls to discuss returning one long-term resident, assuring her that he is alert and responsive.
Two others are at the hospital. One is not doing well. When asked who his next of kin are, she replies: “We are his family.”
She urges the doctor to fight for him.
Image copyrightAFPImage captionAt the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, a hospital worker takes a moment to pause
11:23
Michael Morgenstern sees his next patient via video call. An elderly person with cancer.
The cancer appears to be spreading but while the patient is continuing with chemotherapy, they are holding off on adding radiation treatment for now because of the Covid-19 risk.
Michael is worried. He advises relatives who are still going outside to consider wearing face masks when they are around the patient.
He continues to see patients and work with volunteers for his coronavirus campaign throughout the morning. One of the patients was born only shortly after the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, he thinks to himself.
12:00
Doctor Jennifer Haythe is carrying out rounds in the ICU. Everyone she sees is a Covid-19 patient. They are all on ventilators.
She passes colleagues but can only see their eyes. In them she sees stress, but also hope and courage.
Image copyrightEPAImage captionA patient is transported through Jennifer’s hospital in Manhattan
As she attends to sick and dying patients she thinks about what it must be like for them and their families.
“A hospital without visitors. What is that?” she asks herself.
12:30
Sarujen Sivakumar, a 22-year-old Lebanese-born delivery team manager for Eat Offbeat – a catering company led by immigrants and refugees – heads out to work.
Like many businesses across New York, his company has had to re-model amid the pandemic and now sells coronavirus “care packages” of a week’s worth of meals and snacks.
As he begins his journey, he is struck again by how quiet the city is. In the six years since he arrived here as a refugee, he has never seen it like this. There are no groups talking to each other, no performers at the subway station. He feels almost as if he is in a video game.
Before the outbreak, he would greet his colleagues with special handshakes and hugs. But as he walks into the kitchen today, he knows he has to keep his distance.
13:00
At the Glens Falls nursing home, it is visiting time.
Faith and her colleagues bring residents into the dining room where there are big windows through which they can see their relatives.
Families wait outside in their cars and take turns coming to the windows. They have agreed to limit their visits to 10 minutes each.
As emotional reunions take place through the glass, Faith observes the range of tears being shed – joy, laughter, sadness and, of course, fear.
13:45
The chefs at Sarujen’s company say they are too scared to take the train to work any more, but also worry about how they would survive financially if the company stops running.
Sarujen knows how hard he and others at the company worked to get where they are today. He worries that if it closes, it won’t be the same again in the future.
There is little time to talk about it in depth as they have deliveries to get on with.
14:30
Steven Baxter heads to a funeral home to collect the body of another coronavirus victim.
He received a call the previous day from a man whose father had died. He couldn’t afford what the company was charging for a cremation and needed someone else to take over.
As he collects the body, Steven is angry about what he sees as exploitation of victims of a health crisis. He believes the price that was being charged is four times the average in the city.
16:20
It’s the news everyone had been dreading. The result for the fifth employee tested at Faith Willett’s home comes back positive.
She tells herself there’s no time to feel – she needs to act.
She begins the difficult process of alerting residents and their families.
Image copyrightAFPImage captionMessages in support of medical staff have appeared outside Mount Sinai West Medical Center
17:00
While speaking to a patient earlier in the day who was unable to get a mask, doctor Michael Morgenstern shows him how to fashion one out of a T-shirt.
He decides others may also need to see how to do this so shoots a video and shares it online.
18:00
As Sarujen drops off his last package, he gets a call asking him to join a team meeting about the future of the company.
At the meeting, they agree that the delivery drivers will take the chefs to and from work so they can avoid trains.
He is happy that he can continue working but exhausted from stress over the virus and the day’s concerns over his job.
20:00
Steven Baxter returns home from the funeral home but his day isn’t over.
His twin sons are playing basketball in the backyard. They ask him if he has to shower. When he says yes, they know what sort of day he must have had.
For the next few hours, he deals with calls from more bereaved families. He doesn’t have time to speak with his wife, who is also a funeral director.
He falls asleep before his children. He has to be at another nursing home to collect another body at 04:00.
20:22
Jennifer has a hot bath and is ready to crawl into bed. Even though her hours haven’t changed, she feels much more exhausted than before.
As she responds to more texts about patient care, she reviews how she feels. Achy, tired, sore throat. She wonders if she should get tested.
20:40
Faith Willett gets a call from a nurse who says she can’t do an upcoming shift. She isn’t unwell but news has got around about today’s positive result at the nursing home.
The nurse’s skills and training are invaluable. Faith can’t understand the woman’s decision, which she sees as jumping ship at a time of crisis.
21:00
Jennifer watches an episode of TV sitcom Friends. It is all she can manage to watch these days – she struggles to focus on anything too heavy.
She has a goodnight FaceTime with her children before turning out the lights. She hasn’t seen them in person for eight days.
As she closes her eyes, she makes a mental note: “Thank the cast of Friends when this is over.”
22:00
Kathleen Flanagan has been home for about an hour. It was the usual routine – a shout of “hello” to the family again, clothes in the washing machine again, a shower again.
She has time for only one meal a day at the moment. Today it was eggs and spinach, again.
She goes to sleep with The Office playing on Netflix. It is her winding-down time before she has to start again. But her phone stays close in case anyone needs her.
23:58
There are only a few hours before Faith has to start work again. She has been trying to get some rest but is woken by an email reminder from the department of health about an upcoming call about the virus.
There has been no news from her nursing home of new or worsening symptoms. But that doesn’t mean she can relax.
Throughout this day, Tuesday 7 April, another 779 people died of coronavirus in New York state – a new high.
The Tema Metropolis has confirmed two new COVID-19 cases bringing to four the total number of cases seen in the harbour cum industrial city.
The Metropolis initially confirmed two cases out of which one had fully recovered leaving one active case with 43 out of 46 contacts traced and tested negative.
Dr. Sally Quartey, Tema Metropolitan Director of Health Services, disclosing this to the Ghana News Agency said, the two new cases were males who visited the hospital sick with symptoms of COVID-19.
Dr. Quartey added that their samples were collected and subsequently tested at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research.
She added that the two were receiving treatment under quarantine while contact tracing was ongoing.
She pleaded with residents to strictly obey the laid down preventive measures especially staying at home to prevent spreading the disease in the Metropolis.
Mr Kofi Obeng Mensah, a New Patriotic Party (NPP) aspiring parliamentary candidate for Abuakwa North, has secured insurance cover for 360 delegates in the Constituency from SAHAM Insurance Ghana Limited to cater for their welfare.
The insurance package costs GHC5,400 per month with a premium of Gh15.00 per person, to run for four years.
Out of the 417 delegates in the Constituency, the 360 took advantage to enroll. The beneficiaries include constituency and polling station executives.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview, Mr Obeng-Mensah said the gesture formed part of his plans to mobilise the grassroots to sustain power for the NPP in the 2020 election.
He said elections were won at the polling stations, therefore, the polling station executives must be empowered to deliver on their mandate.
“Those at the polling station level have been underserved hence the need to turn more attention to their problems and give them the needed support for the constituency to improve,†he said.
Mr Obeng-Mensah said the polling station executives sometimes found it difficult to mobilise funds to foot their hospital bills and support marriage and funeral ceremonies among other things, hence the need to enroll on the life insurance package.
He said having interacted with the polling station executives for over two years and also understudied their plight, he and his team had come up with a policy dubbed; â€Grassroots First, Community Assuredâ€.
He indicated three thematic policies to champion the grassroots mobilisation, which are grassroots welfare scheme, job search and job creation, and logistics and logistical improvement.
Mr Obeng-Mensah is a Pharmacist and contesting three other candidates including the incumbent MP, Ms Gifty Twum-Ampofo, Mr Kay Amoah Jnr, and Ms Serwah Acheampong, daughter of the late General Kutu Acheampong, former Head of State.
The Hohoe Magistrate Court has sentenced Cynthia Moajen, a farmer to a fine of GH¢300.00 for accumulating human excreta and refuse in front of her house.
Cynthia pleaded guilty and was convicted on her own plea.
She would serve three months imprisonment if she defaults in paying the fine.
Prosecuting, Mr. Frank Azila-Gbettor, Chief Environmental Health Assistant at the Hohoe Municipal Assembly presenting the facts to the court presided over by Mr. Peter Anongdare said the accused person and one other person who was not in court were residents at Wli.
He said on March 11 this year, Officers in charge of environmental sanitation were on their routine premises inspection, entered into the accused persons house for inspection and asked the accused persons to conduct the officers around for inspection.
Mr. Azila-Gbettor said during the inspection, the Officers detected that the accused persons swept their house, collected the refuse and threw it indiscriminately in front of their dwelling premises.
He said the Officers also found out that the accused persons did not have a household latrine and as a result, their children defecated in the open in the house and in the nearby bushes around their premises.
The Prosecutor said the Officers attempted educating the accused persons on the health effects of their actions, but they were not willing to co-operate with the Officers adding that Cynthia was only busy pounding her palm nut, while the other accused, only took her farm bucket and attempted to leave for farm.
Mr. Azila-Gbettor said the accused were not ready to abate the nuisances as the Officers directed them to do hence a mandatory notice was served on them to appear before the Municipal Environmental Health Officer to explain why they failed to comply with sanitation directives but they ignored the notice.
He said on March 25, 2020, the Officers made a follow-up to check whether the nuisance had been removed but upon arrival nothing changed instead, fresh ones were added.
The police in Obuasi have arrested 49 persons for participating in a wedding ceremony at Akaporiso, a suburb of Obuasi in the Ashanti Region.
The suspects, including the newly wedded couple, are alleged to have defied a presidential directive against holding public gathering exceeding 25 persons in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic.
President Akufo-Addo on March 15 banned all public gatherings including conferences, funerals, weddings, church activities, schools for four weeks.
But the couple and their loved ones defied the directive on Saturday, April 11 when they were joined in holy matrimony amidst merrymaking.
Their enjoyment did not however last as the police who got wind of their gathering caused an abrupt end to their event. The couple are Philip Ahenekorah and Ama Fremah.
The Obuasi Municipal Police Commander, DSP Martin Asenso told the media some of the guests managed to evade arrest.
The 49 people who were arrested are likely to be charged with a breach of protocol on social distancing and public gatherings.
Following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus and a rising number of cases in Ghana, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has revealed that 57.1 percent of confirmed COVID-19 cases between March and April have had no history of travel while 42.9 percent, have had some travel related history.
According to a pie chart data published on the GHS website, the percentage distribution of COVID-19 cases in Ghana by sex, between March and April was 57.9 percent for male, and 42.1 for female.
The staggering revelation comes at a time where some health experts have initially expressed concerns of a likely community spread of the virus but government authorities are urging for more calm as they embark on an enhanced contact tracing exercise.
See the chart below:
Meanwhile, eight (8) out of sixteen (16) regions of the country have recorded positive coronavirus cases after the national case count hit 408.
Regions that have reported cases are Greater Accra, Ashanti, Central, Eastern, Northern, North East, Upper East and Upper West.
“Of the 408 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 205 were reported from the routine surveillance, 88 from enhanced surveillance activities and 115 from travellers under mandatory quarantine in both Accra and Tamale,†the Ghana Health Service (GHS) reported on Saturday, April 11.
The death toll, according to the GHS has also seen an increase from six to eight with four recoveries and two in critical/moderately ill conditions.
BB Naija housemates, Tacha and Sir Dee are certainly rocking the bestie title very well.
The two were and have continually been cool pals both in the Big Brother Naija house and aftermath.
Simply Tacha and Sir Dee have joined the new ongoing craze on social media.
Sir Dee acted as a sugar daddy who was ready waiting for his sidechick. However, Tacha turned down the appointment last-minute which struck Sir Dee real hard!
The Karaga District of the Northern Region continues to record increasing cases of deaths relating to snake bites by virtue of the fact that residents are mostly farmers according to health professionals in the area.
In view of this, the Deputy Minister of Energy in charge of Petroleum, Dr Adam Mohammed Amin Anta has responded timely to the needs of residents by providing 100 pieces of Anti-Snake venom to the Karaga Hospital.
At the commissioning of a Maternity Block for the hospital under the auspices of the Northern Development Authority (NDA), he observed that the gesture became imperative following the unavailability of the drug at the facility resulting in needless deaths.
“We cannot continue to lose our family members to these snake bites taking into consideration the fact most of them are farmers and cannot stop going to farms. Though measures have been put in place to reduce the number of snake bites, I think it is important we make these drugs available to ensure that no more lives are lostâ€, he revealed
He indicated that over the last 2 years he has paid for Anti-Snake venom for people and in most cases but they have to get it from the black market at a very expensive cost.
It was as a result he decided to personally procure the medicine himself and support the hospital to attend to patients with those cases for free.
He also assured them that as part of the NDA program of putting up 2 anti-snake bite Centres at Konkomba and overseas areas which he will provide the necessary equipments that will be needed at those facilities.
To this end, he entreated the management of the hospital to ensure the drugs are put into good to save lives of residents who are at the mercy of snake bites.
Mohamed Ahmed Polo – former player and coach of the Accra Hearts of Oak has called on the current players to show retired players some respect since they have also sacrificed for the nation.
“It is sad the likes of Tony Baffoe, Samuel Osei Kufour and that generation of players does not show respect to those of us in the Retired National Footballers Association of Ghana (RENFAG).
“On many occasions, they have shown us disrespect and I am not enthused about it. Can they compare what we have done for the nation to theirs?” Polo quizzed.
According to Polo, he was unhappy with Samuel Osei Kufour’s conduct recently when he denied Alhaji Ibrahim Sunday the opportunity to speak by snatching the microphone from the legend.
“These are players who should accord us the needed respect because we have won trophies for the name and projected the name of Ghana higher than me,” – he added.
Polo said, members of the Professional Footballers Association of Ghana (PFAG) have asked them to join them to be recognised and described the call as disrespectful and out of place.
“They should rather join us and take over since we have a few years to live on earth. We only a few of us left so it’s better they rather join us and take over not the other way round,” he added.
Polo, was also a former member of the senior national team the Black Stars that won the 1978 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) hosted by Ghana.
He is considered as one of the legends of Accra Hearts of Oak and Ghana.
Turkish Super Lig side Yeni Malatyaspor has revealed that they have not received any offer from Besiktas for the transfer of Afriyie Acquah amidst ongoing speculation of their interest.
The Ghanaian international has been linked with a possible move to join the Black and White in the summer transfer window on the back of his impressive debut season in Turkey.
According to reports, Afriyie Acquah is high on the transfer wish list of Besiktas who remains adamant to strengthen its midfield for the next season when the Coronavirus pandemic dies out.
In an interview with Radio Sports, Yeni Malatyaspor President Adil Gevrek has disclosed that there has not been any official offer for the hardworking middle man.
“We received a transfer from Acquah from Italy in the circuit. We have not accepted Lecce’s 2 million Euro offer for Acquah. From Be?ikta? until now there was no verbal or written offerâ€, he said.
Acquah has made 21 appearances in the Turkish Super Lig this season and has provided 3 assists for his club.
Ghanaian musicians, Shatta Wale and Kuami Eugene have been billed by the government to perform in a virtual concert as the Government of Ghana plans to launch an app.
The event which has been scheduled on 13th April 2020 will have Shatta Wale And Kuami Eugene to entertain fans online with their back to back hits. The concert will be aired live on GhOne TV, TV3, UTV, Joy Prime, Joy News as well as live streaming across Facebook and YouTube.
Former Director-General of the Ghana Health Service and presidential advisor on Health, Dr Anthony Nsiah Asare says the Covid-19 cases in Ghana are not getting worse.
Dr Nsiah Asare said it is rather a positive step by the government through its enhanced contact tracing and testing exercise to make sure the virus did not spread further.
This was in response to a statement from Epidemiologist, Dr. John Amuasi of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology that the cases in Ghana will get worse before getting better.
Speaking as a panellist on a radio show monitored by primenewsghana.com., Dr Nsiah Asare said the cases in the country have increased because of the enhanced contact tracing.
According to him, this is a positive sign because without testing we will not know the true state of the spread of the virus in the country.
He said since the lockdown over 37,000 samples of contacts have been taken and are being tested, and this will inform the next decision of the government.
Dr Nsiah also disclosed that the government will soon introduce the rapid testing system to complement the PCR currently being used for the testing.
Ghana’s case count
Eight (8) out of sixteen (16) regions of the country have recorded coronavirus cases after the national case count hit 408.
Regions that have reported cases are Greater Accra, Ashanti, Central, Eastern, Northern, North East, Upper East and Upper West.
This means the country has confirmed 30 new cases after President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announced on Thursday that the case count stood at 378.
“Of the 408 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 205 were reported from the routine surveillance, 88 from enhanced surveillance activities and 115 from travellers under mandatory quarantine in both Accra and Tamale,” the Ghana Health Service (GHS) reported on Saturday afternoon.
Ghana defender Kasim Nuhu is among Fortuna Dusseldorf players that returned to training for the first time since the season was suspended amid the coronavirus crisis.
Dusseldorf trained in groups of five but without any contact as a precautionary measure of avoiding contracting the deadly virus.
The struggling club worked in small groups with fit-again Ghana defender Kasim Nuhu partaking in it. The central defender had previously trained individually due to a foot injury.
Nuhu suffered the setback at training before the Bundesliga was suspended until further notice due to the outbreak of the virus.
The Red and White lads completed a kind of circuit training. After a warm-up program, they did various sprint and athletic exercises.
There was also a goal-scoring unit and football tennis at the end of the program.
Germany’s top flight has been suspended since 13 March until at least 30 April.
Ajax Amsterdam have caused a huge storm in Dutch football by raiding the academy of their arch-rivals Feyenoord to a hugely talented Ghanaian youngster Avery Appiah, Ghanasoccernet.com can reveal.
The 14-year-old midfielder, who was born in Holland to Ghanaian parents, has taken Dutch youth football by storm with his with his immense dribbling ability and pace.
The dead ball specialist, who has been dominating Dutch youth football over the past five years, will move to Ajax at the end of the season, believing it would take his career to the next level.
Despite the ructions caused by his move, Appiah expressed his gratitude to Feyenoord after joining their academy in 2015 before playing for their U15 side.
“After five great years at Feyenoord, I decided to leave the club. In this way I can develop myself further as a footballer,” Appiah said on Saturday.
“I want to thank the club, the players and all the trainers for the past years.â€
Appiah is not the first Feyenoord youngster to leave for their bitter rivals in recent years.
Steven van der Sloot was the most recent, while Jurrien and Quinten Timber both made the move, along with Noa Lang.
Appiah can still play for Ghana as he has not played for any of the national teams of Holland.
But the Ghana Football Association will have a huge task in convincing the youngster to snub the European country to play for the country of his parents.
Watch highlights of the hugely talented Avery Appiah’s performance below
