TIG Post

Tag: coronavirus in Ghana

  • Sunyani Technical University to crack whip on students who flout coronavirus protocols

    Management of the Sunyani Technical University (STU) in the Bono Region has warned it will sanction members who flout the laid down protocols as far as the COVID-19 is concerned.

    Management reveals that it has put in place all the necessary protocols such as temperature check, provision of Veronica Buckets at vantage points for washing of hands, and the compulsory wearing of face to prevent a possible outbreak on campus of COVID-19 on campus.

    Each student has also been given three washable face masks and a hand sanitizer for personal use.

    According to the Public Relations Officer of the Sunyani Technical University, Mr. Dickson Kyere-Duah, recalcitrant staff and students who flout the protocols instituted by the University will be duly sanctioned.

    The PRO revealed that even though they are expecting a total of 1,500 final year students back on campus, they have instituted stringent measures for both staff and students in compliance with the directives of President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo.

    “Staff and students who flout the Covid-19 protocols we have put in place would be sanctioned. We have given three reusable face masks to each student so without your face masks you will not be allowed entry to campus and without washing your hands you cannot enter any department.”

    He revealed that aside these measures that have been instituted, there is a COVID-19 team that will also undertake continuous training and education to ensure compliance in the interest of the university community.

     

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Staff who tested positive for coronavirus have been isolated Ogbojo Polyclinic clarifies

    The Management of Ogbojo Polyclinic has clarified that only three COVID-19 cases have been recorded among staff of the facility and not six as reported earlier.

    According to the hospital, the three affected staff have been isolated and are being taken care of.

    It comes after reports that staff of the hospital were panicking after workers who tested positive were reportedly still showing up for duty.

    In a statement, the hospital said: “It is NOT TRUE that Six workers of Ogbojo Polyclinic have tested positive for COVID-19. It is rather the case that Three of our staff have contracted the disease.

    “It is also NOT TRUE that our Three staff who are infected with the virus continue to come to work as starrfm.com.gh would like to portray. We have isolated such staff and they are not at post let alone to infect others. Management has provided free medication to the affected officers. Contact tracing and testing has been equally done. As curative health care facility that is even understaffed, we will not subject our workers to any health hazards let alone subjecting them to COVID-19”.

    Source: 3 News

  • NHIA CEO tests positive for coronavirus, calls on friends to isolate

    The CEO of the National Health Insurance Authority, Dr. Lydia Dsane-Selby, has announced that she has tested positive for the novel Coronavirus.

    Speaking in an interview on Asaase Radio, Tuesday, June 16, 2020, she revealed that tests conducted on her by health professionals came out positive on Sunday.

    Since then, she has tried her possible best to reach out to family and friends to appeal to them to isolate and contact appropriate health professionals.

    In her explanation, she noted that the NHIA head office has since been disinfected and some staff who came into contact with her also asked to self-isolate. The facility, together with its affiliates across the country remains operational.

    Dr. Lydia Dsane-Selby in the same breath cautioned Ghanaians to continue adhering to safety precautionary measures to avert the dire consequences of contracting the disease.

    Meanwhile, the Health Minister, Kwaku Agyemang Manu who also tested positive for the virus has been discharged from the University of Ghana Medical Centre, where he was receiving treatment.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Four remand prisoners test positive for coronavirus

    Four remand prisoners have tested positive to Covid-19 at the Asamankese Police Cell in the Eastern Region, the West Akyem Municipal Health Director has confirmed.

    Dr. Samuel Agyeman Boateng explained that after a fumigation exercise, the police requested samples of prisoners be taken because some were coughing.

    Samples of 10 in-mates available then were taken.

    Test results from Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medical Research (NMIMR) which came in confirmed four positive cases out of the 10 that were taken.

    The four are in isolation and doing well, Dr Agyeman Boateng said.

    Two have been kept at the unused female cells and two at the male cells.

    Samples of police personnel have also been taken, awaiting results.

    Dr. Samuel Agyeman Boateng pointed out “this becomes the sixth case count for my municipality”.

    “We had an index case which recovered,” he noted. “A new case was recorded over the weekend before these four. So we have five active case now.”

    Asked what recommendation he gave to police officers to manage new inmates, he said “the courts are still working.

    “Ideally fresh in-mates should have their samples taken and quarantined before they join others, but the cells do not have space.”

    He added: “This issue is a challenge for all of us as stakeholders to find solutions to.”

    Source: 3 News

  • KATH ICU doctors, nurses self-quarantine after exposure to COVID-19 case

    The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) is operating at half capacity after majority of its doctors and nurses were exposed to a COVID-19 case.

    A memo dated Friday, June 12, from the Head of Directorate to the Medical Director of the KATH said the health workers have thus been asked to self-quarantine for 14 days.

    The ICU would therefore not run at full capacity for the next 14 days due to the reduced number of staff, the memo said.

    “Most of our Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Doctors and Nurses got exposed to Polytrauma patient on admission in the ICU who tested positive for COVID-19. The risk assess puts most of them at high-risk exposure and have self-quarantined for 14 days,” the memo said.

    KATH in the memo said in view of that, an urgent management meeting was held and the duty has been modified such that:

    1. The remaining Doctors will do cover for emergencies and obstetric cases only at NAKSA Theatre

    2. The ICU will not run at full capacity for 14 days

    Ghana’s COVID-19 cases as at Tuesday, June 16, stood at 11,964 with 4,258 recoveries and 54 deaths.

    Of the total number of cases, the Ashanti Region has 2,205 cases.

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • Infected MPs hiding coronavirus status due to fear of losing seats – Prof Osafo

    Associate Professor of Clinical and Health Psychology, Prof Joseph Osafo has waded into the controversies surrounding Parliament where it is alleged that some Members of Parliament who have tested positive for COVID-19 are ‘hiding’ and refusing to isolate themselves.

    He said as role models in society, it sends out the wrong signal to their constituents and followers and can affect the fight against the virus.

    Parliament has been rocked with confusion after members subjected themselves to be tested for COVID-19.

    The Minority reported that a number of MPs have tested positive to the virus; however, the Majority in the House insisted that they were peddling falsehood.

    Reports were rife that some MP’s, parliamentary staff and Journalists who have tested positive for the virus were refusing to self-isolate and were still coming to the House.

    Health Minister

    Then President Akufo-Addo confirmed on Sunday evening in his 11th address to the nation on the coronavirus pandemic that the Health Minister, who is also a Member of Parliament for Dormaa Central, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu had tested positive and was in a stable condition.

    MPs not bold

    Contributing to a panel discussion on Peace FM’s morning show ‘Kokrokoo’, Prof Osafo said the MPs are not bold enough to declare their status because “the stigmatization is deeply rooted in officialdom . . . when you have officials who are infected but are denying, their followers can emulate because they are like moral examplers; the ordinary people can also hide their status.”

    He further said others (MPs) might be afraid of losing their seats and so they will prefer to hide their status.

    “Some of them may be subscribing to some myths and fear that as an MP and in an election year; (if they declare their status), how will they campaign; so there’s that fear,” he added.

    Majority Leader’s Caution

    Presenting the business statement before the House last Friday, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Majority Leader cautioned persons who have been infected with coronavirus to stop visiting the House.

    The Suame MP noted that the affected persons have defied the communications from the COVID-19 team that they should stay away following their positive results.

    On his part, Minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu assured that the confidentiality of medical records remains of extreme paramount importance hence urged the said patients to avail themselves.

    Speaker of Parliament, Prof Mike Aaron Oquaye said the medical team will conduct another test for MPs and staff.

    He warned that any MP or Journalists who fail to conduct the test will be banned from entering the premises of Parliament.

     

    Source: Peace FM

  • Were awaiting E.I on mandatory face mask wearing to enforce compliance Police

    The Ghana Police says it is awaiting an executive instrument (E.I) on the mandatory wearing of face mask as directed by President Nana Akufo-Addo to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus in the country.

    President Akufo-Addo in his nationwide address on covid-19 to the nation announced wearing of fase mask has now been made mandatory in the Greater Accra, Ashanti, Central and Western regions where the number of people contracting the virus has surged.

    “…residents of these four regions and indeed all Ghanaians must remember that the wearing of masks is now mandatory.Leaving our homes without our face masks or face covering on is an offence,” the president said in the Sunday address.

    He directed the police to ensure strict compliance of the directive, which he said will be the subject of an executive instrument.

    The police in a statement Monday night said they thus expect compliance from Ghanaians.

    “Good people of Ghana, we expect immediate compliance from the general public on the mandatory wearing of face mask, as directed by H.E President Nana Akufo-Addo, while awaiting the Executive Instrument on the subject,” it said.

    It has thus advised all to safeguard their health, families, loved ones and the nation as a whole, stating “COVID-19 is real, it kills but you can prevent it”.

    Of the 11,964 cases so far recorded in the country, 4,258 have recovered with 54 deaths and 7,652; a situation President Akufo-Addo said was a worrying situation.

    Greater Accra leads with 7,138 cases followed by the Ashanti region with 2,205 confirmed cases.

    The Western Region, after being flagged the new hotspot region, follow with almost 1,000 cases. Its eastern neighbours, the Central Region, has so far recorded 621 cases, making it the fourth highest region with Covid-19 cases.

    “It is important for me to remind residents of the Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions, where a great majority of cases have been recorded, and in the Western and Central Regions, where we are seeing an increase in infectious cases, to continue to adhere strictly to the social distancing and in-house hygiene protocols announced,” President Akufo-Addo advised.

     

    Source: 3 News

  • I reopened schools ‘advisedly’; coronavirus can’t put our education on hold Akufo-Addo

    President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said Ghana cannot put education, health and issues of social justice on hold just because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Announcing the resumption of school for final-year students of the universities, the President said in his eleventh televised address to the nation on Sunday, 14 June 2020 that: “From tomorrow, Monday, 15 June 2020, the last batch of institutions in this phased approach, our educational institutions, will begin to re-open, with final-year students in our tertiary colleges and universities returning to school to prepare for and take their exit examinations”.

    “As has been stated, final-year senior high school (SHS 3) students, together with SHS 2 Gold Track students, will resume on 22nd June; and final-year junior high school (JHS 3) students, the week after, on 29 June”, the President said.

    According to the President, “The decision to include our schools in phase one of the easing of restrictions was taken advisedly”.

    “Some argue that we are putting the lives of our students, teachers and non-teaching staff in danger by this re-opening, citing the examples of other countries, who have done so and recorded spikes in their infection case counts”.

    “I have stated, on several occasions, that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to the resolution of this pandemic”.

    “We have our own unique situation in the country, and we have always taken that it into account in dealing with this disease, much as we are prepared to learn from the examples of others”, he said.

    President Akufo-Addo noted that “over the last three (3) months, every aspect of our national life has been affected by this virus”, noting: “We have had to take deliberate steps to ensure that our society, in the face of the pandemic, is able to function, and continues to strive to deliver the results of progress, prosperity and development, for which we all yearn”.

    “Saving lives, jobs and livelihoods, revitalising our economy, and safeguarding the future of our country have been at the heart of this endeavour”, adding: “We cannot say that because of the pandemic, we are no longer interested in issues of social justice such as education and health”.

    Education, the President said, “indeed, is the key to the future of our country”.

    “The quality of education that our educational institutions produce, ultimately”, he noted, “will determine the success or otherwise of our nation”.

    “We, therefore, have to find a way of guaranteeing the prospects of the generation of young people who are the objects of education today, and who represent our future”.

    “We have to do everything within our power to protect their potential, and, thereby, help preserve our future”.

    “We cannot afford to let the pandemic undermine our chances for survival and progress. We have to confront our present and future with confidence, knowing fully well that we must remain, at all times, vigilant and careful”.

    “So, from tomorrow, operating with half the class size, final-year students will begin a six-week period of learning to finish their respective programmes. Subsequently, for a period of four weeks, they will sit for their exit examinations. It must be put on record that some final-year university students will not be returning to school, as some of them, through virtual means, have already sat their exit examinations”, he announced.

    Prior to their return to school, the government, through the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service, has ensured that all tertiary institutions, public and private, have been disinfected.

    Universities, with their own hospitals and clinics, have been equipped with the necessary personal protective equipment, and have isolation centres to deal with any positive cases, the President noted.

    “All other institutions, without their own clinics and hospitals, have been mapped to health facilities”, he said.

    He, however, said: “There will be no mass gatherings and no sporting activities. Religious activities, under the new protocols, will be permitted. Social-distancing and the wearing of face masks must become the norm on campus”.

    “To aid in this effort, a total of six hundred thousand (600,000) face masks has been distributed to the tertiary institutions. This is to enable every student, teaching and non-teaching staff to have three (3) reusable face masks. In addition to this, one thousand seven hundred (1,700) Veronica buckets, two hundred thousand (200,000) litres of hand sanitisers, three thousand, four hundred (3,400) litres of liquid soap, and nine hundred (900) thermometer guns have been distributed, with the transportation and delivery of these items being overseen by the special logistics team of the Government Committee, chaired by the sagacious, experienced politician, the Senior Minister, Hon. Yaw Osafo Maafo, that is supervising the re-opening of the schools”.

    He also said: “I met with the Vice-Chancellors of the universities, both public and private, last Tuesday, who pledged that they would co-operate to ensure that this exercise is effectively undertaken, and I thank them very much for their co-operation. Our intention is to secure the lives of the nearly two hundred thousand (200,000) students, lecturers and non-teaching staff, who will be returning to campus from tomorrow, and I appeal to them also to do their bit to help us succeed. I urge them to adhere to enhanced personal hygiene and social distancing protocols, wash their hands with soap under running water, refrain from shaking hands, and wear their masks to, in and from the lecture halls, and on the campus, generally”.

     

    Source: Class FM

  • Close schools, final year students must be graded on continuous assessment – Akufo-Addo told

    Nana Ofori Owusu, Director of Operations for the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), has expressed worry over the reopening of schools for final year students in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    According to Nana Ofori Owusu, asking the students to go back to their various schools in this crucial season of COVID-19 may endanger more lives and also create fear and panic in their homes.

    President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, delivering his eleventh update on COVID-19, reiterated that final year tertiary students will resume school on Monday, June 15, 2020, while those at the Junior High Schools resume on June 29, and the Senior High Schools on 22nd June.

    “From tomorrow, Monday, 15th June, the last batch of institutions in this phased approach, our educational institutions, will begin to re-open, with final year students in our tertiary colleges and universities returning to school to prepare for and take their exit examinations. As has been stated, final year Senior High School (SHS 3) students, together with SHS 2 Gold Track students, will resume on 22nd June; and final-year junior high school (JHS 3) students, the week after, on 29th June. The decision to include our schools in phase one of the easing of restrictions was taken advisedly,” the President said.

    But Nana Ofori Owusu has cautioned the President and the stakeholders in the education sector to reconsider their decision.

    He asked how the President expects the students and their lecturers to stay safe and free of the virus infections when they cannot determine their health status especially now that research has proven that some COVID-19 patients are asymptomatic.

    Speaking to host Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM’s ‘Kokrokoo’, Nana Ofori Owusu appealed to the President to go for an alternative given by the Minister of Education, Matthew Opoku Prempeh which suggests that the final year students could be graded using their continuous assessment.

    This, to him, is a better option than opening the schools because if the students are to be graded based on their continuous assessment, there will be no need for final examinations.

    He echoed the President’s statement that ”we’re not in normal times”, hence ”I am pleading that, with the Hon. Minister’s own alternative solution to the problem that he enumerated and it made perfect sense, I plead that we look at that option and push that option onto the children”.

     

    Source: Peace FM

  • Will final year students be frequently tested for coronavirus? – Nana Ofori Owusu to Akufo-Addo

    Staunch member of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Nana Ofori Owusu has asked President Nana Akufo-Addo to reconsider his decision for final year students to resume school in the wake of the novel Coronavirus.

    Giving his eleventh nation address on COVID-19, President Akufo-Addo rehashed his directive for the schools to open stating “from tomorrow, Monday, 15th June, the last batch of institutions in this phased approach, our educational institutions, will begin to re-open, with final year students in our tertiary colleges and universities returning to school to prepare for and take their exit examinations. As has been stated, final year senior high school (SHS 3) students, together with SHS 2 Gold Track students, will resume on 22nd June; and final year junior high school (JHS 3) students, the week after, on 29th June. The decision to include our schools in phase one of the easing of restrictions was taken advisedly”.

    The President was optimistic about the measures adopted by his government and stakeholders in the education sector to safeguard the students and their teachers.

    “Some argue that we are putting the lives of our students, teachers and non-teaching staff in danger by this re-opening, citing the examples of other countries, who have done so and recorded spikes in their infection case counts. I have stated, on several occasions, that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to the resolution of this pandemic. We have our own unique situation in the country, and we have always taken that it into account in dealing with this disease, much as we are prepared to learn from the examples of others,” he argued.

    He also added that, as part of measures to prevent infections on the campuses, ”a total of six hundred thousand (600,000) face masks has been distributed to the tertiary institutions. This is to enable every student, teaching and non-teaching staff to have three (3) reusable face masks. In addition to this, one thousand seven hundred (1,700) Veronica buckets, two hundred thousand (200,000) litres of hand sanitisers, three thousand, four hundred (3,400) litres of liquid soap, and nine hundred (900) thermometer guns have been distributed, with the transportation and delivery of these items being overseen by the special logistics team of the Government Committee, chaired by the sagacious, experienced politician, the Senior Minister, Hon. Yaw Osafo Maafo, that is supervising the re-opening of the schools”.

    But Nana Ofori Owusu is not convinced by the President’s efforts as he seeks to know if there will be frequent testing for the students and their teachers.

    “Are we going to test them? How can we know those infected and are coming from their home? How can we know a supporting staff who cleans the place is infected from home? How can we the lecturer is infected? Where’s the baseline statistics to show that as we have opened schools today, within two weeks, when we do another testing, we can understand that there’s been a growth or reduction or we have contained it because the President says we can never know unless we test?” he questioned.

     

    Source: Peace FM

  • Ghana to use blood plasma as coronavirus treatment option

    Ghana has taken the fight against COVID-19 a notch higher, with plans to introduce blood plasma as part of treatment options for those infected with the virus.

    Under the initiative, COVID-19 patients with moderate and severe conditions would be given the plasma transfusion from recovered patients, to aid their recovery.

    As a result, the National Blood Service (NBS) is beginning the collection of blood plasma from recovered patients for onward transfusion to yet-to-be recovered patients.

    “The NBS is working very closely with the Ministry of Health, Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) and the COVID-19 treatment team to prepare convalescence plasma (CP) from patients who have recovered from COVID-19 for transfusion, as an empirical treatment to patients with severe or life-threatening COVID-19 infection,” said Dr. Justina Kordai Ansah, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NBS.

    Speaking on the sidelines during the commemoration of the World Blood Donor Day on June 14, under the theme: “Safe Blood Saves Lives,” Dr. Ansah said the move is based on the fact that patients who recover from diseases like Ebola and COVID-19, appear to have robust immune response to the infection.

    “Antibodies in the plasma of recovered patients can be transfused to other COVID-19 patients to aid their recovery from the infection … once there is no vaccine this is the best line of treatment,” she explained.

    Dr. Ansah added that the method is being used in other countries like Mauritius and said “people are recovering.”

    She said the NBS is hoping to start the collection as soon as funds are released by the Ministry of Health for the purchase of consumables.

    “We have the plasma forensics machine; we have the protocols; and approval from FDA, we are waiting on the Health Ministry to provide funding for consumables,” she said.

    In this regard, Dr. Ansah encouraged recovered COVID-19 patients to step forward and donate blood to save the lives of other patients in critical condition.

    “At the moment we have the list of those who have recovered and we want people who have recovered to come forward when we call so that they can be part of this process.

    Once we start that, people who have moderate or severe COVID-19 can be treated with the plasma,” she said.

     

    Source: Daily Guide Network

  • Wa Prison inmates test negative for coronavirus

    All the 117 inmates of the Wa Central Prisons have tested negative for COVID-19, the Assistant Director of Prisons, Mr Francis Selorm Hagbe, Upper West Regional Commander of the Ghana Prisons Service has disclosed.

    He said their focus was now on prevention, to which they had strengthened their response mechanisms to ensure the safety of all inmates and officers of the prison.

    Mr Hagbe disclosed this while receiving a donation of food and non-food items from the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council (RCC), presented by the Regional Minister, Dr Hafiz Bin Salih, to support the upkeep of inmates of the prison.

    The Wa Central Prisons Commander said the donation would help them strengthen their response to COVID-19, while also improving on the welfare of the prisoners.

    Emphasizing on the prevention, Mr Hagbe said physical contact with prisoners was not allowed when visitors came to visit.

    He said church service and other social gatherings were all regulated to ensure there was no breach of the social gathering directive.

    Veronica buckets had also been placed at vantage points inside the prison to ensure regular hand washing among inmates.

    “We have also provided some vitamin C for inmates to take on daily basis to boost their immune systems,” he said.

    He added that it was a must for all officers to wear nose mask, wash their hands and have their temperatures taken before being allowed to go inside the prison.

    Dr Bin Salih noted that COVID-19 had brought extra burden in terms of care for the prisoners, hence the decision by the RCC to donate the items to help ease the burden.

    The Regional Minister appealed to the general public to support management of the prison to provide comfort to their unfortunate brothers.

    The donation includes mattresses; bags of rice and maize; gallons of cooking oil; packets of sugar and soap; Veronica buckets; and non-contact infrared thermometer.

     

    Source: GNA

  • NALAG requests stimulus package extension for MMDAs

    The National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG) has called on government to extend its stimulus package to the Metropolitan, Municipal and Districts Assemblies (MMDAs) since the internally generated revenues of the assemblies have dwindled amidst the increase in expenditure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    It said government should also consider extra funding for MMDAs to enable them render other social services to the local assemblies.

    Mr Bismark Baisie Inkum, President of NALAG, made the call at a press briefing in Accra held to highlight the NALAG leadership nationwide engagement with presiding members and selected assembly members from the 260 MMDAs on COVID-19.

    The meeting afforded the leadership of the Association the opportunity to interact with its key stakeholders and ascertain their views and experience on COVID-19 pandemic responses at the local level.

    Besides, the interaction also gave the leadership adequate understanding of what has transpired across the regions and the MMDAs and how best that has helped in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The Association after touring the nation identified some key issues which they asserted were hampering the fight against COVID-19 at the local level.

    Some of the emerging issues included: District Health Depreciates entering communities without involving assembly members; creating difficulty for cooperation from community members in adhering to established protocols; some communities treating suspected COVID-19 cases as confirmed cases; the manner in which recovery cases are released into the community creates needless suspicion and stigma for individuals involved; as well as lack of consensus among stakeholders at different levels especially the local community among others.

    To address the challenges identified as a result of the local level engagement, Mr Inkum suggested that Public Health Emergency Teams should liaise with assembly members in various communities in order to have easy engagement with the communities, adding that this would enhance inclusivity and promote comprehensive front for the fight against the pandemic.

    He said the Ghana Health Service staff should work hand in hand with the assembly members when they want to enter a community to educate or contact trace a suspected case, saying this would ensure that the unfortunate incident of a suspected person refusing to cooperate is reduced.

    He said the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and the Information Services Department (ISD) should intensify the education and sensitization in the local communities.

    Mr Inkum also emphasized the need for Assembly members and Unit Committee members to liaise with chiefs, security and health personnel to deal with non-compliance to the protocols.

    He said the religious organizations should equally use their various platforms to educate their members on the pandemic and urged them to adhere to enhanced personal hygiene and social distancing protocols while washing their hands under running water and using alcohol-based hand sanitizers.

    Mr Inkum said the threats from the coronavirus disease also present an inherent opportunity for MMDAs to consider new ways of doing things.

    He cited for example that MMDAs should now think of the possibility of having virtual meetings where the usual physical locational meetings may not be possible for reasons of COVID-19.

    “It is our hope that in the future, our laws will consider such virtual meetings as legal. We should also think about digitizing our services to enable clients access same from a remote location to reduce the usual human interface. A digitized and a mobile enabler platform can be used for revenue collection, building permit processing and a host of others”, he added.

     

    Source: GNA

  • Apam community jubilate after 33 people test negative for coronavirus

    There was spontaneous massive jubilation amidst singing, dancing and thanksgiving to God by the people of Apam when 33 of the 37 people who came into contact with an infected COVID-19 person, tested negative for the disease.

    The contact tracing and subsequent quarantining of the people by the Gomoa West District Health COVID-19 Team, followed their coming into contact with a young man who escaped from a quarantine center in the Eastern Region to his family at Apam.

    Nana Bonsu Appiah, Apam Community Chief Fisherman, in an interview with the GNA said the District Health Directorate had information about the young man, traced and picked him up and later traced all his contact persons and had their samples taken for testing.

    Twenty-five of the 33 who tested negative are fishermen who have been released and are currently with their families, actively going about their routine work without any stigmatisation.

    Nana Appiah advised: “We are not in normal times and as life is essential we should not take the COVID-19 for granted since it is no respecter to any person, but we must continue to respect the directives given to protect ourselves and others from contracting the pandemic”.

    According to him, he and his elders had intensified education on the pandemic through their local information center at the beach to ensure that everyone including fishermen, fishmongers and buyers observed the social distancing and the wearing the nosemasks and regular hand washing to help prevent the spread of the virus in the community.

    He thanked the Assembly, the Chiefs, the District Health Committee and all who in diverse ways supported all the people who were traced and quarantined and urged people in the area to change their lifestyle and strictly observe the protocols.

    Nana Appiah prayed that those who have tested positive will soon be healthy to join the community to contribute their quota towards the development of the area.

    Later in an interview with some of those quarantined, they stated that they were gripped with fear when they were picked up, but when the results came and they tested negative all their fears were gone.

    They encouraged the entire community to protect themselves against the disease, adding that they should not entertain fears in case they were quarantined but remain calm to know their status.

     

    Source: GNA

  • Coronavirus: Academic life returns to tertiary institutions in Ho

    Academic life has returned to tertiary institutions in the Ho Municipality of the Volta Region following the partial opening of schools for final year students in tertiary institutions to prepare for their examinations.

    Scores of students were spotted at the Ho Technical University (HTU), the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) and the Evangelical Presbyterian University College campuses when the Ghana News Agency visited Monday morning.

    The GNA also saw ‘Veronica buckets’ filled with water, tissue papers, liquid soaps and hand sanitizers placed at vantage points of the campuses to enable students observe the hand washing protocol to limit the spread of COVID-19.

    Some students and lecturers were seen in face masks with “NO MASKS, NO ENTRY” written on lecture halls.

    A few students who spoke to the GNA said though they were not comfortable returning to school as the Covid-19 case in the country continued to increase, their academic work was also important.

    They called on the authorities of the institutions to ensure that adequate preventive measures were put in place against spread of the virus.

    Madam Maria Gwira, Director of Public Affairs, UHAS, told GNA that the University was fully prepared for academic work to continue, saying all classrooms, laboratories and offices of the institution had been fumigated in preparation for academic work.

    She said the University had taken delivery of some assorted items from the government including infrared thermometer guns, 2,625 hand sanitizers, 7,875 face masks, 30 rolls of tissue paper, 15 Veronica buckets, 30 liquid soap (4.5 litre bottles) to limit the spread of the virus.

    Madam Gwira said the items would be distributed to both students and lecturers and other workers in the University to stem the spread of the Coronavirus.

    She said lectures had resumed immediately and students were expected to wear their masks to the lecture halls, adding that any students who failed to wear his or her mask would not be allowed to enter the hall.

    Mr Isaac S. Meyir, Senior Assistant Registrar, In-charge of Public Affairs, HTU, also said the University had put all the necessary protocols in place in lecture halls and the residential halls to ensure the safety of the University family.

    He said all lecture halls and residential halls of both students and lecturers had been fumigated as a preventive measure to curb the spread of the novel Coronavirus.

    Mr Meyir said both students and lecturers would have to check their temperatures before entering the lecture halls, adding, “any students who refused for his or her temperature to be checked will not be allowed to enter”.

    He said any student who failed to comply with the protocols put in place by the authority at their various residential halls would be removed from the hall.

    Mr Meyir said the University would be organizing a virtual COVID-19 orientation for the students to prepare them on the COVID-19 situation in the Ho Municipality to enable them appreciate the situation and conduct themselves in a manner that would help prevent spread of the disease.

    Mr Meyir said the orientation was also to encourage students comply with safety protocols.

     

    Source: GNA

  • Coronavirus: Israel has closed schools, is Ghana better than them? – Nana Ofori Owusu quizzes

    PPP bigwig, Nana Ofori Owusu has admonished President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to close schools for final year students.

    President Nana Akufo-Addo, in his 11th update on COVID-19, reiterated the reopening of schools for final year students.

    He was also cocksure the preventive measures by his government will help consolidate the health of the students and their school authorities as well as non-teaching staff.

    “Some argue that we are putting the lives of our students, teachers and non-teaching staff in danger by this re-opening, citing the examples of other countries, who have done so and recorded spikes in their infection case counts. I have stated, on several occasions, that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to the resolution of this pandemic. We have our own unique situation in the country, and we have always taken that it into account in dealing with this disease, much as we are prepared to learn from the examples of others,” the President argued.

    He added that to aid in the fight against the pandemic “a total of six hundred thousand (600,000) face masks have been distributed to the tertiary institutions. This is to enable every student, teaching and non-teaching staff to have three (3) reusable face masks. In addition to this, one thousand seven hundred (1,700) Veronica buckets, two hundred thousand (200,000) litres of hand sanitizer, three thousand, four hundred (3,400) litres of liquid soap, and nine hundred (900) thermometer guns have been distributed, with the transportation and delivery of these items being overseen by the special logistics team of the Government Committee, chaired by the sagacious, experienced politician, the Senior Minister, Hon. Yaw Osafo Maafo, that is supervising the re-opening of the schools”.

    But Nana Ofori Owusu strongly believes it is a bad move to open the schools and has cautioned the President not to think his measures are infallible.

    The Director of Operations of the PPP, who is also aspiring to be its National Chairman, alluded to world statistics on the COVID-19 pandemic and feared there may be a spike in the number of infections in the country when final year students return to their various campuses.

    Citing countries which permitted their schools to resume only to close them again because they recorded higher numbers of infections among the students, he appealed to the President to reconsider his decision.

    He asked President Akufo-Addo if Ghana is better than Israel, comparing the two country’s technical know-how.

    “The statistics of the world show us that when we open schools, the numbers of COVID-19 infections increase. It is there; it’s staring us in the face . . . Israel is a highly knowledgeable society. I am quoting Israel because of the propensity for the average citizen in Israel to be conscious but Israel opened schools and Israel closed the schools. Are you saying that we’re more conscious as a society than Israel? It can’t be the case. The argument will not hold. Any attempt to make that argument is on a slippery slope because we learn from best practices of the world,” he said on Peace FM’s ‘Kokrokoo’.

     

    Source: Peace FM

  • COVID-19: KATH Intensive Care Unit to operate at half capacity

    The Intensive Care Unit of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital is to operate at half capacity for the next 14 days.

    This is because most of its intensive care unit doctors and nurses have been exposed to a trauma patient who has tested positive for Covid-19.

    A memo dated June 12, 2020, intercepted by Luv News said “most of our Intensive Care Unit, ICU, doctors and nurses got exposed to Polytrauma patient on admission in the ICU, who tested positive for Covid-19.

    “The risk asses put most of them at high risk exposure and have to self-quarantine for 14 days. In view of that an urgent management meeting was held and the duty roster of the remaining staff has been modified,” the memo added.

    The memo says the following arrangements have been made:

    I. The remaining doctors will do cover for emergencies and obstetric cases only at NAKSA Theatre.

    II. The ICU will not run at full capacity for the next 14 days.

    The Memo was signed by the Head of Directorate of the Anaesthesia and Intensive Care-Kath.

     

    Source: Myjoyonline.com  

  • Coronavirus: Health Minister reportedly discharged from UGMC

    The Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyemang Manu, has been discharged from the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC), 3news.com can confirm.

    Mr Agyemang Manu, who was admitted on Tuesday, June 9, contracted the deadly Covid-19 in the line of duty.

    Hospital officials, who would not speak on record, indicated that the Health Minister is in stable condition and responding to treatment but not currently at UGMC.

    The sector minister, who has not been seen in public since the last media briefing on May 28, is reported to have taken some days off and was yet to resume to work.

    Source: 3 News

  • Coronavirus: Blood clots targeted in treatment trial

    Scientists are to test whether an experimental drug can prevent potentially deadly blood clots associated with Covid-19.

    The trial, funded by the British Heart Foundation, will test the theory the clots are caused by a hormone imbalance triggered by coronavirus infection.

    It will become one of several drugs currently being trialled to prevent the disease’s worst effects.

    A third of hospitalised coronavirus patients develop dangerous blood clots.

    The drug, TRV027, works to rebalance hormones involved in blood pressure, water and salt.

    Scientists from Imperial College London, involved in the trial, think that when the virus enters the body, it uses an enzyme as a “handle” to enter the cells.

    But this disables the enzyme, which plays an important role in balancing the key hormones. When out of balance, the blood can become sticky, leading to clots.

    They theorise that TRV027 – which won its creator a Nobel Prize in 2012 – can step in to play this rebalancing role.

    Many of the treatments being trialled to treat Covid-19 focus on the body’s inflammatory response.

    But the hormonal imbalance is a “quite distinct problem” which may provide clues to the question of why some people get severely ill why others do not, says Dr David Owen, one of the study’s leads.

    Blood clotting could also explain why Covid-19 seems to particularly affect people who already have cardiovascular disease despite being a respiratory illness, according to the British Heart Foundation.

    Different drugs trialled

    Since Covid-19 is such a complex disease which effects many of the body’s systems, this treatment could be used in combination with other drugs says Dr Kat Pollock, a joint lead on the study.

    About 60 patients will be given either the new experimental drug, or a placebo, starting next month.

    It has been shown to be safe in patients with acute heart failure, although it was not effective as a treatment for this condition.

    TRV027 is just one of several different drugs being trialled to ease the disease’s worst effects or help the body fight it off.

    At least 10 different antiviral drugs including HIV treatment lopinavir/ritonavir are being, or have been trialled to see if they can help fight off the disease.

    None has yet been shown to be effective on its own, although there is still hope several could be used together to shorten patients’ illnesses.

    Remdesivir, a drug that has shown promising effects, works by attacking an enzyme that a virus needs in order to replicate inside body cells.

    Meanwhile plasma – the liquid part of blood – taken from people who have recovered from coronavirus might also help, by giving sick people who haven’t recovered the right antibodies to fight it off.

    And a number of other treatments are focusing on the body’s dangerous inflammatory response to fighting Covid-19, known as cytokine release syndrome.

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • Coronavirus: Ghana’s case count increase by 542

    Ghana’s Covid-19 case count has increased by 542 more positive cases bringing the number of confirmed cases to a total of 11,964 with 4,258 recoveries.

    The total number of active cases currently stands at 7,652 with 54 deaths.

    During President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo 11th address to the nation Sunday, [June 14, 2020], he said 13 people are critically ill while three others are on ventilators.

    He added that it is important to follow through the efforts made to control the spread of the virus adding that people should adhere to the health protocols.

    “This is how we can prevent our health care services and our heroic health care workers from being overwhelmed due to an increase in demand for hospital,” President Akufo-Addo stated.

    He also urged people to avoid stigmatising recovered patients. Adding that the stigma undermines the fight against the virus.

    “Our survival is in our own hands. If we are relax and inattentive, we will continue to have serious challenges with the virus. If we are mindful and self-disciplined, we have it in us to defeat this pandemic, and help return our lives to normalcy. I appeal to each and every one of you for your help in this regard.”

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • Attitude towards coronavirus ‘so bad’ in Ho – Letsa

    Volta Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, has expressed concern over the public response to Coronavirus preventive directives in the Ho Municipality.

    He said the attitude of market folk especially, caused the virus to spread much faster and was contributing to the rising number of positive cases in the Region.

    The Regional Minister said this when he met with the media ahead of a disinfection campaign of military and educational facilities in the Volta and Oti Regions by Zoomlion Ghana Limited.

    “The attitude over coronavirus in Ho is so bad and it is not surprising that our case count is rising so fast. We are just refusing to admit that we have a problem and that each one of us has a role to play in putting this virus under control.

    “Please intervene wherever you are and you will find out that protocols are not being observed,” he stated.

    Dr Letsa said the evasive nature of the virus made risk education key in fighting its spread, and appealed to teachers and parents to help the young identify everyday activities that would expose them to the virus.

    A total of 2,654 basic schools, 100 senior high, and 20 tertiary facilities would be fumigated against viral pathogens and other disease-bearing organisms in the Volta and Oti Region, as part of a nationwide exercise powered by the Military High Command, and the Ghana Education Service.

    All 55 military facilities comprising command, training and operation bases would also be disinfected during the 20-day exercise.

    Lieutenant Colonel Bernard Baba Pantoa, Commanding Officer of the 66 Artillery Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces, said all must take up the responsibility of ensuring compliance, and said the Military would continue to offer the needed support.

    Checks by the Ghana News Agency indicate that as of Saturday, June 13, Volta region had 263 COVID19 confirmed cases, 211 on treatment, 48 recoveries and four deaths.

     

    Source: GNA

  • NCCE gets more support for COVID-19 fight

    The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has received 50 vehicles from the office of the President to enable the commission to intensify its campaign against the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

    The 50 vehicles which have been given to the NCCE as a loan for three months were from the National Security through the facilitation of the Chief of Staff and the office of the President.

    The Chairperson of the NCCE, Ms Josephine Nkrumah, who disclosed this to Graphic Online said the commission has also been given an amount of GH¢2.517 million to maintain the vehicles by way of fueling, operating cost, and engagement on the field.

    ”This has been one of the key achievements for us in terms of advocating for tools to work.

    ”Prior to the announcement that the government was going to supply the commission with 10,000 PPE, we had a meeting with the President and he expressed concern about lack of tools to work. So, the PPE came and we started following up on other items. I’m happy to see these 50 vehicles which would enable us go to the farthest parts of the country to educate the citizenry on COVID-19,” she remarked.

    She said the vehicles which would be dispatched to the regions have been earmarked for the hotspots in the country.

    Adding that the NCCE was going to adopt a strategy that would enable it work effectively and efficiently in the various hotspots and other parts of the country as it had been indicated by the Ministry of Health.

    Ms Nkrumah said although the commission had already started educating Ghanaians to adhere to safety protocols, with the availability of these vehicles, the NCCE would intensify its campaign on stigmatisation which according to her, had been a major concern based on the feedbacks the NCCE had received on the field.

    ”Some people are now concealing symptoms which may be that of COVID-19 all because of stigmatisatoin,” she said.

    Ms Nkrumah said the NCCE is grateful to all the numerous civil society groups which through their advocacy for tools for the commission had yielded good results.

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • Coronavirus: Final year students return to schools amidst tight restrictions

    The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has confirmed the reopening of schools for final year students of public universities and senior high schools (SHS) while preparations continue for the return of final junior high school (JHS) students to complete preparations for their exams.

    Beginning today Monday May 15, 2020 operating with half class size, the President said final year students will begin a six-week period of learning to finish their respective programmes, and sit for their final exams, for four weeks.

    However, he noted that some final year university students will not be returning to school since they have already completed their examination through virtual means.

    “Final year SHS will report to school a week after the return of university students, June 22, along with SHS 2 Gold Track students, and final year JHS3 students on June 29. The Ghana Education Service (GES) has ensured the disinfection of all public and private tertiary institutions,” the president said.

    Additionally, he said universities with their own hospitals and clinics have been equipped with the necessary PPE’s and isolation centers to deal with any positive cases.

    However, as the schools open the President has directed for the adherence of some strict protocols including the cancellation of mass gatherings and sporting activities but religious activities under the new protocols will be permitted.

    Akufo-Addo stated the wearing of masks must become the new norm for students and in view of this said some 600,000 nose masks have been supplied to tertiary institutions.

    He said pandemic should not erode the interest in social justice such as education and health.

    “We cannot afford to let the pandemic undermine our chances for survival and progress. We have to confront our present and future with confidence, knowing fully well that we must remain, at all times vigilant and careful”

    He added notwithstanding how the outbreak of the coronavirus has altered national life, deliberate steps effort has been made to ensure that society is able to function while continuing to strive to deliver the results of progress, prosperity and development.

     

    Source: B&FT Online

  • Here are the measures taken to combat the spread of coronavirus in Ghana as schools reopen

    Out of an abundance of caution, and in keeping with the efforts to prevent and contain the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), the government has outlined a roadmap for easing the restrictions put in place to help contain the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic in the country as schools reopen.

    President of the Republic Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in a televised address to the nation on Sunday, June 14, 2020, has made the wearing of face masks mandatory, in the wake of a sharp rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in Ghana.

    He said the Police and law enforcement agencies will enforce this directive through an Executive Instrument.

    He stated that the government, through the Ghana Health Service (GHS), continues to monitor daily the spread of the virus, and has benchmarks of health outcomes, which define the mitigation measures that must be pursued to curb the spread of the disease and enable us to reassess the easing of restrictions.

    He said “Prior to their return to school, Government, through the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service, has ensured that all tertiary institutions, public and private, have been disinfected. Universities, with their own hospitals and clinics, have been equipped with the necessary personal protective equipment, and have isolation centres to deal with any positive cases. All other institutions, without their own clinics and hospitals, have been mapped to health facilities. There will be no mass gatherings and no sporting activities. Religious activities, under the new protocols, will be permitted. Social distancing and the wearing of face masks must become the norm on campus. To aid in this effort, a total of six hundred thousand (600,000) face masks have been distributed to the tertiary institutions. This is to enable every student, teaching, and non-teaching staff to have three (3) reusable face masks. In addition to this, one thousand seven hundred (1,700) Veronica buckets, two hundred thousand (200,000) litres of hand sanitisers, three thousand, four hundred (3,400) litres of liquid soap, and nine hundred (900) thermometer guns have been distributed, with the transportation and delivery of these items being overseen by the special logistics team.”

    According to him, “It is important for me to remind residents of the Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions, where the great majority of cases have been recorded, and in the Western and Central Regions, where we are seeing an increase in infection cases, to continue to adhere strictly to the social distancing and enhanced hygiene protocols announced.”

    “With the doctors and scientists telling us that the virus is transmitted from human contact, through talking, singing, coughing and sneezing, which results in sending droplets of the virus from one person to another, residents of these four regions, and, indeed, all Ghanaians, must remember that the wearing of masks is now mandatory.

    “Leaving our homes without a face mask or face covering on is an offense. The Police have been instructed to enforce this directive, which is the subject of an Executive Instrument,” he said.

     

    Source: pulse.com.gh

  • All MPs, Speaker of parliament must be quarantined immediately Ben Epson

    Pollster Ben Ephson is pushing for all Ghanaian members of parliament and the speaker, Prof. Mike Ocquaye, to be quarantined on the back of admission that some MPs and parliamentary staffers have contracted the deadly novel coronavirus.

    He argued that Parliament is no different from other institutions where persons are quarantined once a COVID-19 case is recorded among the people, hence the MPs must be subjected to the same COVID-19 protocols to protect the larger society.

    Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu revealed Friday that some MPs and parliamentary staffers who tested positive for the virus and were supposed to be in isolation were still having contacts with others.

    “The arrangement was that anybody who, unfortunately, tested positive, will not be openly identified but that the testing team will have the arrangement to contact them behind the curtain and have the situation managed,” Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said.

    He claimed that some people have ignored directives from the COVID-19 team to self-isolate “and they visit parliament and endanger the lives of all of us.”

    Commenting on the issue, Mr Ephson who is the Managing Editor of the Dispatch Newspaper has said “I think that all Members of Parliament, from the Speaker to all the 275 MPs, all the staff in parliament, all the journalists working in there should all be quarantined as soon as possible.

    Speaking to Alfred Ocansey on the Sunrise morning show on 3FM 92.7, he said once someone contracts the disease and gives out the names of persons he has been in contact with, “the ambulances go there with armed policemen to take them for testing”.

    “So once the Majority leader has opened up the can of worms that there are members of parliament and staffers who have tested positive they should all be quarantined as soon as possible.”

     

    Source: 3 News

  • Coronavirus: Ashanti Region records 38 deaths as Contact Tracers go on strike over slashed stipend

    COVID-19 contact tracers in the Ashanti Region have raised concerns over their work, accusing health authorities in the region of neglect as the region has recorded 38 deaths so far.
    According to the Service, five more people have died of coronavirus bringing the death tally to 38 in the region alone, accounting to more than half of the national fatalities

    The Regional Ghana Health Service is reporting that 117 more people have tested positive for coronavirus in Ashanti region, 24 hours after its previous update This brings the total number of coronavirus cases recorded in the region to 2,205. Out of this number, 682 of them are active cases.

    According to the Coalition of Contact Tracers, health authorities in the region have reduced their stipend from GHS150 per day as announced by the government to GHS70.

    They also claim that they lack appropriate Personal Protection Equipment.

    “When we go out to pick samples, the only thing they give us is nose masks, hand gloves and sanitizers. These are the only three things that they give,” leader of the coalition, Dawud Ibrahim said in an interview on otecfmghana.com.

     

    Source: otecfmghana.com

  • GNCCI Leadership visits businesses to assess coronavirus impact

    The leadership of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) has paid a working visit to some member businesses in Takoradi to ascertain the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their activities.

    The visit also enabled the team, led by Nana Dr Appiagye Dankawoso I, the GNCCI President, who happens to be the Presidential Advisor on the Private Sector, to be abreast of concerns of businesses as the Government initiates some stimulus packages to cushion businesses.

    Members of the team included the Regional Chairman, Mr Stephan Miezah, and Mr Badu Aboagye, the Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber.

    They visited the Ghana Rubber Estate Limited, the Ghana Flour Mills, Diamond Cement and Dress up College of Fashion.

    At the Diamond Cement, Mr Dharmendra Patel, the General Manager, bemoaned the depreciation of the cedi, coupled with low turnover, as the major impact of the pandemic on the business.

    The Managing Director of the Ghana Rubber Estate Ltd, on his part, appealed to the Government through the Chamber to find some relief packages for the more than 50,000 farmers in the rubber value chain who had been affected.

    Mr Percy Botchwey, the Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Flour Mills, said the company, which normally produced 800 tonnes a day, now produced 400 tonnes daily and had adopted a shift system to avoid lay-offs.

    Nana Dankawoso commended the companies for weathering the storm to make a positive contribution in the lives of their employees and to sustain livelihoods.

    He pledged the commitment of the Chamber to engage in robust advocacy for local and international assistance to businesses.

    Source: GNA

  • Sissala West District records first COVID-19 case

    The Sissala West District has recorded its first confirmed case of COVID-19, Dr Hafiz Bin Salih, the Upper West Regional Minister, has said.

    The Minister disclosed this at Kowie in the Sissala East Municipality during a visit to observe how the Regional Marketing Group and its partners were distributing fertilizer to farmers in the area under the programme; “Feeding Ghana after COVID-19.”

    “The affected person is a female who travelled in from Accra to Gwollu for a funeral and tested positive for COVID-19 after her sample was taken for testing,” he said.

    Dr Bin Salih has, therefore, directed that she should be sent to the Regional Isolation Centre in Wa for proper management.

    He said all 22 persons who previously tested positive for Covid-19 in the Region had recovered and reintegrated into the community.

    He appealed to all to continue to observe the Ghana Health Service and the World Health Organisation (WHO) safety protocols on the disease.

    Dr Bin Salih announced that the National Identification Authority had started distributing cards and encouraged applicants to go for their cards whilst those yet to register must take advantage of the mop-up exercise expected to commence soon.

    He reminded all to prepare to participate in the compilation of the new voters register to get their cards for the 2020 general election.

    He urged farmers to be mindful of the COVID-19 whiles cultivating their fields by observing all the safety protocols.

    Source: GNA

  • Doctors say our father died of pneumonia – Family

    Doctors at the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital have informed the family of the Late Anthony K.K. Sam, former Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Chief Executive, that he died of pneumonia.

    “Before our father was moved from the Effia Nkwanta Hospital on Sunday to Accra, the doctors told us he had pneumonia,” Mr Kweku Sagoe, Son of the former MCE, told the Ghana News Agency on Saturday.

    Mr Sagoe was reacting to speculations that his father might have died from COVID-19, after his driver was alleged to have contracted the disease without any proper isolation.

    “Our father had already tested negative for COVID-19 on two occasions and the third was done when he was taken to Accra on Sunday. We are yet to be given the results of that test”.

    The Late Anthony K.K. Sam, born on October 17, 1957, died on Friday, June 12, at the University of Ghana Medical Centre.

    Source: GNA

  • Only rich people contract the coronavirus – Sege residents claim

    Many residents of Sege, capital of the Ada West District in the Greater Accra Region, believe that COVID-19 affects only the rich, contrary to scientific facts.

    While some of them said the coronavirus may exist somewhere in the world but not Ghana, others said even if it was in the country, the number of infected people were being exaggerated because few Ghanaians were rich enough to contract it.

    The Ghana News Agency interacted with the community members to find out reasons behind their failure to comply with the COVID-19 protocols especially, the mandatory wearing of masks.

    All those interviewed said, they experienced shortness of breath any time they wore the mask hence their resolve not to use it even though it was mandatory and that it did not matter anyway.

    ” I have about six masks but anytime I put one on, I start losing my breath,” a bread seller said.

    Another trader also stated that “I sell nose masks myself but I don’t wear it because I can’t breathe with it. What is the point anyway. This disease is not for us. ”

    The GNA observed that majority of those who patronized the business area of Sege did not obey the protocol of mask wearing.

    They included commercial drivers, okada riders, traders, passers-by and local opinion leaders.

    Veronica buckets were still positioned at the markets, lorry parks and other public places in the community but some did not have soap and tissue roll for effective hand washing.

    Mr Vadis Ayiku Peaceman, Assembly member for SegeKoni electoral area, expressed disappointment at the refusal of the people to comply with the directives, reminding them that the “virus is not a hoax neither a sickness for the rich only.”

    Source: GNA

     

  • Nigeria projects 39.4m job losses by end of year

    A team charged with developing Nigeria’s economic recovery plan from the coronavirus pandemic says about 39.4 million people could be jobless by the end of 2020 if government fails to act.

    The Committee on Economic Sustainability Plan, led by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, said restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus had mainly affected agriculture, manufacturing and tourism sectors.

    It said the dip in the nation’s oil earnings would result in a $473m (£375m) shortfall every month.

    The committee presented its economic plan to President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday.

    Among its recommendations is the rolling out of mass programmes that create jobs and and utilise local materials in agriculture, housing and road construction.

    Nigeria’s Lagos, Abuja and Ogun states were put on lockdown that ended in May to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

    The country has so far confirmed 14,554 cases of coronavirus.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Ghana losing coronavirus fight – Akandoh expresses worry

    The COVID-19 Rapid Response Team of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has urged the ruling NPP Government to take steps to provide more funds and rapidly deploy more resources, to give Ghana a chance in fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic.

    According to them, the only realistic window of opportunity available to Ghana to put in an effective mechanism to control the spread of the viral disease should be measured in days rather than weeks, as we race against time.

    Speaking on Okay FM’s ‘Ade Akye Abia’ programme, a member of the team, ranking member committee on Health and member of parliament for Juaboso constituency, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh expressed worry about the increasing numbers of the COVID-19 cases.

    “It is about time the government should invest more resources in the COVID-19 fight because it looks like the country is losing the fight,” he said.

    He said most treatment centres even lack basic PPEs to provide care for the infected patients, which endangers the lives of the health professionals.

    He added that with the easing of restrictions by President Akufo-Addo the government should also be ready to equip and provide more resources to fight against the Coronavirus.

    “The rate at which the numbers are rising puts the country at very high risk,” he added.

    Source: Peace FM

  • Prince Harry praises Ghanaian World War II veteran

    UK’s Prince Harry has written a letter of encouragement and support to Private Joseph Hammond, a 95-year-old Ghanaian WW II veteran, who set himself a challenge of walking 3.2 km (two miles) every day for one week.

    The objective was to raise about $600,000 (£500,000) to buy Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for health workers and and vulnerable veterans in Commonwealth countries.

    Mr Hammond said he was inspired by Capt Sir Tom Moore, a British veteran, who raised more than $35m for the UK’s National Health Service.

    Prince Harry said that Private Hammond and Capt Tom More – who celebrated his 100th birthday during his campaign – had set an example to the world.

    Private Hammond, who met Prince Harry last year at the Field of Remembrance in London, said he was grateful for the letter.

    He was drafted into the Royal West African Frontier Force aged 16 to fight in WWII.

    Although he finished the seven-day walking challenge in May, the fundraising campaign continues. He has so far raised $28,000.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Ahafo yields to first COVID-19 case

    The Ahafo Region has recorded its first case of the coronavirus (COVID-19) infection, making it the last of the 16 regions in the country to have confirmed cases.

    The patient is a 30-year-old man whose condition was traced to a female contact from a neighbouring community in the Ashanti Region.

    Confirmation

    The Ahafo Regional Director of Health, Dr Boakye Boateng, confirmed the issue in a telephone interview, and explained that the victim was currently at an isolation centre in Goaso, the regional capital.

    Dr Boateng explained that the cause of the infection was traced to a pregnant woman who was referred from Tepa in the Ahafo-Ano District in the Ashanti Region to the St Elizabeth Hospital at Hwidiem in the Asutifi South District in the Ahafo Region about two weeks ago.

    He indicated that the expectant mother was diagnosed as having contracted COVID-19 after she had been referred to the St Elizabeth Hospital.

    He said the 30-year-old man was one of the people who came into contact with the pregnant woman when she was referred to hospital at Hwidiem.

    “Results from the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR) released on Monday confirm that the Ahafo Region now has its first case of the disease,” Dr Boateng stressed.

    He said so far contact tracers had identified 12 people who had come into contact with the victim.

    The samples of those 12 persons, he said, had been sent for testing at KCCR and had since been advised to strictly observe the protocols until the results were released to know their fate.

    Calm

    Dr Boateng called on people in the region not to panic but to remain calm and continue to observe all the COVID-19 safety protocols to limit their chances of infection.

    He also appealed to them to refrain from stigmatising COVID-19 victims and their families, explaining that such a negative attitude would make it difficult for the government to successfully implement protocols it had put in place to contain the spread of the disease.

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • Ghana records 498 new coronavirus cases, tally now 10,856

    Ghana has once again recorded another major surge in coronavirus cases in barely 24 hours after the previous update, shooting the figures up from 10,358 to 10,856

    Per the new updates by the Ghana Health Service, the number of recovered patients has also seen a boost as 97 more patients have been declared free moving the numbers to 3921 from 3824.

    No new deaths have been recorded yet.

    This means the number of active cases hovers around 6887, which indicates a sharp rise from the previously recorded 6486.

    The GHS data also shows that 16 of the active patients are in severe conditions while six are critically ill.

    The regional breakdown didn’t record any significant changes as Greater Accra continues to maintain the lead as the region with the most recorded cases.

    So far all 16 regions in the country have recorded at least one case.

    Regional breakdown Below:

    Greater Accra Region – 6,791

    Ashanti Region – 1,905

    Western Region – 874

    Central Region – 539

    Volta Region – 212

    Eastern Region – 204

    Upper East Region – 128

    Western North Region – 79

    Oti Region – 47

    Northern Region – 37

    Upper West Region – 22

    Bono East Region – 13

    North East Region – 2

    Savannah Region – 1

    Bono Region – 1

    Ahafo Region – 1

     

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Sad photos: How 5 COVID-19 deaths in Ghana are being buried

    Ostensibly, Ghana has buried 21 COVID-19 deaths remaining 27 corpses in various morgues.

    Today, the Public Health Directorate of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly supervised the burial of 5 coronavirus death in Ghana.

    It was reported that, the 5 bodies were from the 37 Military Hospital and the Accra Ridge Hospital.

    See Photos Here:

    Source: mynewsghana.net

  • Health worker dies from coronavirus as 49 others test positive

    A health worker in the Eastern Region has died from Coronavirus.

    This brings to two the number of fatalities recorded in the region after a Senior Police officer died from the disease on May 29,2020.

    Meanwhile, the number of health workers who have tested positive have increased from 30 to 49.

    Statistics by the Eastern Regional Health Directorate dated June 10, 2020, indicate the regional case Count has increased from 198 to 208.

    The additional confirmed cases were recorded in West Akim (4), New Juaben South (3), Denkyembuor (2) and Birim Central (1).

    Bellow is the Eastern Regional Breakdown of cases by
    Districts/ Municipalities.

    1) Lower Manya Krobo-75

    2) New Juaben South 32

    3) Kwawu West- 23

    4) Akuapim North-15

    5) Denkyembour- 14

    6) Asuogyaman- 13

    7) Nsawam Adoagyiri- 7

    8) Fanteakwa North -6

    9) Birim North -6

    10) West Akim- 5

    11) Birim Central- 4

    12) Suhum- 3

    13) Achiase- 2

    14) Akuapim South -1

    15) Abuakwa North-1

    16) Upper Manya Krobo-1

     

    Source: Starr FM

  • Modern teaching and learning approaches will counter coronavirus effects on education – President

    President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo Thursday stressed the need for the adoption of modern teaching and learning approaches to counter the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the country’s educational regime.

    Noting the drastic way that the coronavirus had changed, globally, the way things are done, including that of the educational sector, he said it was of utmost importance that modern technology was harnessed to improve educational outcomes to safeguard the future prosperity of the country.

    In an interaction with Vice Chancellors of public universities at the Jubilee House, Accra, ahead of the partial reopening of tertiary institutions on Monday, June 15, 2020, President Akufo-Addo reiterated that education was the key to the future of the country, and measures were being taken to ensure that the crisis does not impact on the quality of education of children and the youth.

    As a result, Government, he said, was initiating a learning management system to promote electronic learning and online educational interaction in all tertiary institutions across the country.

    He stated that learning management systems would enable the government access the effectiveness of e?learning and online interactions.

    President Akufo-Addo spoke about the Open University concept, which he said government was taking a keen interest in to see how it would contribute to quality education in the country.

    Government, he said, was working to ensure that universities provided quality distance learning as was being delivered by Open Universities.

    President Akufo-Addo indicated that his decision to order the reopening of schools for particularly final year students is to prevent the past experiences of where the education of Ghanaian students were interrupted due to political decisions.

    “We know here in Ghana, we have examples, very painful examples of what happened to generations of Ghanaians whose education was interrupted, sometimes by purely political events not by pandemics, but by political events and its taken a long time for the victims of those political interventions in the life of our educational system, to recover and for our system to recover.

    “If there is any way we can prevent this generation also suffering in their evolution from the pandemic, we should do so, ” he said.

    The President pointed out that “Education is the key to the future of our country, the quality of education that our educational institutions will produce will determined the success or failure of our nation,” adding that ways have to be sought “to safeguard that future.”

    “Safeguarding that future means essentially safeguarding the prospect of the generation of young people who are the objects of education today,” he stressed.

    President AKufo-Addo was confident that the limited reopening of universities would serve as a good example for the country, as there would be space for compliance with health protocols relative to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “If it succeeds, then the country will be reassured that we can begin to step up with confidence to the future that comes ahead of us,” he said

    Professor Ebenezer Oduro, Chairman of the Vice-Chancellors of Ghana, assured the President that contrary to media reports that some universities have decided not to open despite the government’s directives for them to open, all universities would adhere to the directive in absolute terms..

    “Come the 15th, that is Monday, all universities will reopen as you have directed.

    “We believe that the orders were given in some context, and that tells us that we need also to apply wisdom and some level of discretion in getting the students to campus to complete their academic work,” he said.

    Prof. Oduro, who is also the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, the revealed that the universities had reached an agreement with the students’ body to adopt a “blend approach” that would see the continuation of online studies, and the opening of classrooms to those who would want to walk in and study.

    He assured also that all safety protocols would be observed.

     

    Source: GNA

  • Coronavirus: First case in Ahafo is ambulance driver who carried patient

    Ahafo Region became the final region to record a case of coronavirus in Ghana after a 38-year-old man was confirmed positive.

    As a result of the latest confirmation, Ghana has now officially recorded a case in each of the 16 regions.

    The patient is said to be an ambulance driver who transported a patient to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) on Thursday, May 21.

    The driver and health workers aboard did not know the status of the patient sent to KATH.

    It was on Monday, May 25 that the patient was confirmed Covid-19 positive.

    “Nineteen staff who came into contact with the patient together the ambulance driver was contacted and tested,” the Ghana Health Service (GHS) said on Thursday, June 11.

    He was placed under self-quarantine and the second test at the end of the process came out as positive.

    He is currently at Goaso Hospital and said to be stable and asymptomatic.

    The other health staff, however, tested negative in both their first and second testing.

    The Ahafo Region case adds to the national tally since the disease was first recorded in the Greater Accra Region.

    Out of a national total of 10,358, Greater Accra has the highest with 6,642 cases.

    So far, 240,204 tests have been conducted and a majority of the confirmed cases have been from contact tracing.

    The positivity rate is at 4.31 per cent.

    Aside Ahafo Region, adjoin Bono Region and Savannah Region have one cases each.

    But Bono East Region has recorded 13 cases.

    Find the regional breakdown in ascending order below:

    Greater Accra Region 6,642

    Ashanti Region 1,799

    Western Region 778

    Central Region 539

    Eastern Region 198

    Volta Region 162

    Western North Region 74

    Oti Region 47

    Upper East Region 42

    Northern Region 37

    Upper West Region 22

    Bono East Region 13

    North East Region 2

    Savannah Region 1

    Bono Region 1

    Ahafo Region 1

    Source: 3 News

  • 2020 Oguaa Fetu Afahye cancelled

    The Oguaa Traditional Council has cancelled this year’s Oguaa Fetu Afahye celebrations amidst the Coronavirus pandemic.

    In a press release cited by GhanaWeb, the traditional council stated that despite the suspension of the festival, all ritual and traditional rites will be observed.

    The Fetu Afahye is a festival celebrated by the chiefs and people of Cape Coast in the Central Region of Ghana in September of every year.

    “Oguaa Traditional Council regrets to announce to all citizens of Oguaa, both at home and abroad and the nation at large, that there will be no celebration of this year’s OGUAA FETU AFAHYE,” the statement read.

    Ghana, among other countries have placed a ban on public gathering all in a bid to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in his last address to the nation on the easing of restrictions exempted festivals, political rallies and large religious gatherings from the list.

    However, funerals, weddings, and places of worship have been opened with a number not exceeding 100 persons while strictly enforcing the precautionary measures like social distancing, wearing of nose mask, and constant handwashing.

    The number of Coronavirus cases count as at Thursday, June 11, 2020, stood at 10,358 with the death toll at 48 with the Central Region recording 539 out of the total cases.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Landlords threaten to evict health workers over fears of contracting Covid-19

    Some landlords at New Edubiase in the Ashanti region have threatened to evict health workers for fear of contracting Covid-19.

    According to the Medical Superintendent of the New Edubiase Government Hospital, the attitude of some landlords is worrying, especially at a time when health workers need the utmost support from citizens.

    Dr Allan Tiertoore indicated that the landlords are suspicious of potential spread of the virus by health workers to other tenants when they return home since they are in regular contact with patients.

    He threatened that if a single health worker is evicted it would compel the entire staff to boycott services and return to their various communities.

    “If they evict one health worker, they have evicted all of us from the hospital.”

    New Edubiase has so far recorded three Covid-19 cases which health workers say they are working tirelessly to prevent from spreading.

    Chief of New Edubiase Traditional Area, Oguahyia Oduro Panin Birikorang has also called on residents to unite and remain focus in order to be able to fight the disease.

    As part of measure by the traditional council to help the health facility fight the pandemic, the chief has donated ₵27, 000 worth of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) to the hospital.

    The items include 4,000 facemasks, 1,000 hand gloves, 600 bottles of sanitizers, among others.

    Oguahyia Birikorang admonished residents to adhere to preventive measures outlined by health officials.

    Source: myjoyonline 

  • Ghana’s coronavirus case count now 10,358 with 3,824 recoveries

    Ghana has recorded 157 new cases of the novel Coronavirus.

    This has pushed the country’s confirmed cases to 10,358.

    As of Thursday, June 11, 2020, the official website of the Ghana Health Service indicated that 69 persons who tested positive for the virus have recovered pushing the recoveries count to 3,824.

    The death toll, however, remains at 48.

    The Ghana Health Service stated that active cases of COVID-19 is now at 6,486.

    Per the regional case count, the Greater Region has recorded 121 new cases bring the case count in the region to 6,642. The Eastern Region has also recorded 23 new cases sending the case count to 198 whilst the Volta Region has recorded 4 new cases of the virus sending the case count to 162.

    Oti Region has also recorded 9 COVID-19 new cases sending the total case count of the virus to 47.

    Find below the count of cases per Region.

    Greater Accra Region – 6,642

    Ashanti Region – 1,799

    Western Region – 778

    Central Region – 539

    Eastern Region – 198

    Volta Region – 162

    Western North Region – 74

    Oti Region – 47

    Upper East Region – 42

    Northern Region – 37

    Upper West Region – 22

    Bono East Region – 13

    North East Region – 2

    Savannah Region – 1

    Bono Region – 1

    Ahafo Region – 1

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Osafo Maafo heads Committee to coordinate safe reopening of schools

    The Minister of Education, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh has revealed that the President has set up a special committee under the office of the Senior Minister to ensure the safe reopening of schools across the country.

    President Akufo Addo has directed the reopening of schools for only final year students in schools across the country at the end of June.

    Ghana has currently recorded over 10,000 coronavirus cases.

    Speaking during the disinfection of tertiary institutions in Accra, Dr. Prempeh stated that the safety of the students remains a priority to the government.

    “This spraying will occur in both public or private institutions, also not only in those under the Ministry of Education but other institutions outside the ambit of the Ministry. The President has set up a special team under the office of the Senior Minister with the Director-Generals of the Ghana Health Service, Ghana Education Service, Military Logistics, Police Welfare, the Ministries of Information and Local Government to coordinate in the distribution of logistics and ensure that schools reopening happens safely and securely.”

    Source: Kasapa FM

     

  • Noguchi tests herbal medicines for COVID-19 treatment

    The Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) of the University of Ghana has indicated that it has received a number of local herbal medicines which are being considered for the possible treatment of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

    The Director of the NMIMR, Professor Abraham Kwabena Annan, told the Daily Graphic that the institute had set up a platform to test and determine whether the local herbal preparations presented to the centre had the efficacy to treat COVID-19 and also determine the possible side effects of the medicines.

    After testing, he said, the results would be handed over to the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), the main regulatory agency for herbal preparations.

    Hope

    Prof. Annan welcomed innovations by traditional medicine practitioners and the development of new therapies in the search for potential treatments for COVID-19.

    He said so far, looking at the number of local herbal medicines received, “there is a lot of hope because we have received a number of local medicines that are being screened for COVID-19 treatment”.

    He observed that it was likely that some of the  products would turn out to be very promising and perhaps offer a complete solution.

    Although he could not indicate the exact time frame the testing would take, he said the testing of the traditional medicines would take a few weeks to complete.

    Touching on the development of COVID-19 medicines in Ghana, the director said the institute, the FDA and the Ghana Health Service were all working together to ensure the country found a solution.

     

    Source: Graphic.ocm.gh 

  • Coronavirus: 16 out of 48 dead bodies buried in Accra

    The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has so far buried 16 persons who had died from COVID -19 in the city with the youngest and the eldest being nine [9] and eighty-four [84] years old respectively.

    Head of the Environmental Health Department of the AMA, Madam Florence Kuukyi who disclosed this said Twenty-Seven [27] families of the forty-eight [48] persons who died from COVID-19 had registered with her outfit for the burial of their relatives out of which sixteen[16] bodies have so far been interred.

    She pointed out that all burials undertaken so far were done per World Health Organization (WHO) standards and protocols adding that the bodies were buried at a designated site earmarked by the Assembly for the burial of persons who die of infectious diseases.

    According to her, out of the number registered, nineteen [19] were Christians with the remaining eight [8] being Muslims.

    She added that all the Christians were buried with coffins donated by the family members while the Muslims were buried with body bags.

    She explained that all burials were done under the strict supervision of Environmental Health Officers from the Assembly adding that none of the bodies was viewed naked.

    “It is the responsibility of the Environmental Health Officer to give persons who die of infectious diseases a befitting burial… In these cases, officers disinfect the bodies right from the mortuary to the cemetery to be laid to rest, ” she said.

    She also disclosed that none of the officers was infected with the virus and was hopeful that no one would contract the virus.

    Florence Kuukyi appealed for more Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) as well as other logistics.

    Source: ama.gov.gh

  • Coronavirus: Church of Pentecost suspends water baptism

    The Church of Pentecost has directed its various assemblies to suspend water baptism for new converts until further notice.

    This, the Church said, is geared towards ensuring that the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) is curbed from spreading.

    A statement signed by the Chairman of the Church, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, outlined some safety guidelines that the assemblies should follow.

    He said while water baptism is suspended, new convert classes and follow-ups can be done.

    “It is recommended that water baptism be suspended until further directives are given,” a section of the statement said.

    Members of the Church of Pentecost have also been directed to continue worshipping at home for at least the next two weeks.

    Apostle Nyamekye said service can resume only after June 19, insisting this is meant to give the various assemblies time to put in place all safety measures ahead of the return of congregants.

    According to him, the church wants to ensure that all members are safe when they gather to fellowship.

    “The Executive Council directs that under the supervision of Area Heads, District Pastors and the respective presbyteries, the various assemblies use the next two weeks to take practical steps to meet the full requirements/protocols for the partial opening of assemblies for church services,” the statement said.

    “Thus, the assemblies may be opened on or after June 19, 2020, and that services in church buildings should start in assemblies only when adequate preparation has been made to satisfy the required protocols.”

    The Pentecost Chairman added that all assemblies must make sure they comply with safety protocols before resuming fellowship.

    These include forming a COVID-19 taskforce to oversee the compliance of the safety protocols by members.

    Source: pulse.com.gh

  • Antenatal visits drop as pregnant women opt for home births in Northern Ghana

    NORSAAC a civil society organization in the northern region, has raised the alarm over a drop in antenatal visits to health facilities across northern Ghana.

    The organization says, a significant number of pregnant women in northern Ghana now deliver at home, choosing to visit health facilities only under emergencies.

    Executive Director of NORSAAC, Mohammed Awal, who disclosed this to journalists in Tamale said the development poses a threat to gains made in reducing maternal and infant mortality.

    He said the organization conducted a study in selected health facilities in eighteen districts across the five regions of the North and found the worrying trend.

    The study also found that most health facilities in the area, are not equipped to deal with a surge in the Covid-19 outbreak.

    Source: GBC

  • Virtual Skuul platform launched

    About 500 students across the country have signed on to an online virtual school created to mitigate the impact of the closure of schools.

    The platform

    he platform, dubbed “Virtual Skuul”, is an initiative by Eclipse Multimedia, an information technology company, to help establish a link between teachers and students for exchange of assignments and learning best practices.

    The platform was also to assist learners and teachers in pre-tertiary schools to access improved learning and teaching resources in the form of video lessons, notes, examination questions,teaching and learning aids at any time.

    The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Eclipse Multimedia, Mr John Akwasi Amponsah, expressed his excitement about the quick response,

    stating that the feedback the platform was receiving was an indication that it was serving the intended purpose.

    Services of the system, he noted,were delivered through state-of-the art instructional videos, multimedia notes, computer-based assessment

    assignments,projects and exercises.The platform allows students to access interactive lessons for all subjects of junior high and senior

    high schools, especially regarding Mathematics,Science,English,Social Studies,History and French.Mr Amponsah observed that the

    system could make learning at home easier and fun as it came with features which gave learners the opportunity to access every tool they

    required to carefully plan learning for themselves.In addition, he said, it allowed them to effectively follow a facilitator-led video lessons, revise

    lessons with culturally relevant and new curriculum-based resources,attempt and solve Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and

    the West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASCCE) past questions,with instant feedback.A Co-Founder of the platform, Mr

    Micheal K. Ocansey, also stated that the closure of schools as a result of COVID-19 was adversely impacting on the educational system of the

    country.“Currently,the student population of Ghana for final-year students in SHS stands at 1.2 million.What this means is that on the average,we have

    over 12 million student population from Primary One through to senior high schools currently staying at home due to the COVID-19

    pandemic,” he stated.“The platform is a response to how we can make learning and assessment continue for the student population in Ghana and ensure that

    the illiterate youth in general take advantage of the pandemic to learn to read and write,” he added.

    How to log on

    To access the platform, Mr Ocansey explained that patrons would have to log on to www.virtualskuul.com in the browser to sign up for an account, using a valid e-mail address.

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • Coronavirus: SA to pay $14m for Cuban doctors, says minister

    South Africa’s Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has said Cuban doctors brought in to fight the coronavirus outbreak will cost the country $14m (£11m).

    The minister said the 187 specialists – including biostatisticians, epidemiologists, family physicians and health technologists – will be accommodated until 2021.

    Dr Mkhize said the medics were qualified in areas in which the country was struggling to produce enough experts.

    “The estimated budget cost is informed by actual appointment levels of the Cuban health brigade as determined by their registration category, which took into consideration years of experience,” the minister explained in a letter to parliament.

    The arrival of Cuban doctors in South Africa to help fight coronavirus ruffled feathers as an association said unemployed local medics should have been given priority to work.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Coronavirus: Rural schools will have challenges Addae Mensah

    Emeritus Professor Ivan Addae Mensah, who is also a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, has noted that schools in rural areas in the country will have a daunting task protecting their students from coronavirus.

    This he said is due to the lack of enough financial and other resources to ensure that the materials needed to use in protecting the children are provided.

    Speaking in an exclusive interview with Alfred Ocansey on the Sunrise morning show on 3 92.7FM Tuesday, June 9, Emeritus Prof Addae Mensah said: “Certainly methods of teaching are likely to change, class sizes will need to be minimized.

    “That will mean having more teachers in the classroom, more facilities in the classrooms.

    “Government should be prepared to put in the necessary financial and other resources to make sure that these facilities are provided for the educational institutions.”

    But he indicated: “When it comes to the rural areas you will really have serious challenges especially with children in the basic schools. You can have social distancing or physical distancing in the classrooms but what do you do when they go out during recreation? How can you prevent them from interacting with each other and from chasing each other on the football field?”

    President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Sunday, May 31 announced the reopening of schools for final year students at all levels of education from Monday, June 15, 2020.

    He said after an engagement with the various teacher unions, government decided to allow final-year students to go back to school to prepare for their final examinations.

    President Akufo-Addo said all other levels of education will remain closed to students.

    Final year university students will resume classes on Monday, June 15 while Form 3 Senior High School students as well as Form 2 SHS students on Gold Track will reopen the following week.

     

    Source: 3 News