The State Of Corona Virus Pandemic in Ghana – Bright Makafui writes
Professor Fred Newton Binka, the Foundation Vice-Chancellor at the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) exclaimed “The death of Prof Jacob Plange-Rhule makes me fear Corona virus” (paraphrased).
On the 12th April 2020, Ghanaweb reported ” Easter Sunday: Chorkor beach packed as residents defy lockdown directives to chill” This is very sad and unfortunate.
You see, many think when we say “Don’t panic” it means don’t be afraid of Covid19. Fear and panic are not synonymous in this fight. You’ve got to stay unpanic with the belief that the virus won’t last here and that the mitigation process is a collective responsibility. In the other vein, you’ve got to fear the virus by strictly observing the directives and the social distancing, the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer, regular washing of hand protocols.
The loss of the high profiled Medical luminary, Prof Jacob Plange-Rhule – may his soul rests in peace – is a warning to us. It should once again reminds us that this virus is no respecter of persons. The lives of our healthcare givers are highly at risk.
The swift rise in the Covid19 case count in Ghana to 566 with 8 deaths as of April 12th, is the highest in West Africa. This could however be attributed to sheer non adherence and noncompliance to the directives inscribed from the restrictions law by the President of the Republic. Up until when the lockdown begins, many the nation’s capital, Accra had already moved to their villages or hometowns upon the pronouncement of the partial lockdown by the President, which took effect after 48 hours. In effect, the rapid spread in other regions is a testament.
Going forward, as the partial lockdown is still in force, we have to take stringent measures to contain the spread. Our security guards will have to beef up surveillance, and I’m happy the Director General, National Operations, Ghana Police Service – DCOP Mr. Boadu Peprah sent a strong caution to the Ghanaian populace. Let’s enforce the appropriate sanctions on persons who flaw the directives. Our security guards should keenly guard our entry and exit points. Let’s minimize movements in the affected areas.
The food sharing project for the impoverished or underprivileged populace in the lockdown affected areas hasn’t been well rendered, considering the social distancing protocol bequeathed by W.H.O. These exercises should be a blessing to the citizenry, never should it end up being a curse when one contracts the virus in the process. Let’s see the approach used in the past weeks changed in the coming weeks, to a more organised mechanism.
The remarkable NOGUCHI MEMORIAL INSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH has been phenomenal in this fight and I must commend their relentless staff for putting their lives on the line. However, it’s widely perceived that they are running out of test kits, which is unfortunate.
The essence of the lockdown is to contain the spread by running more tests as possible. The contact tracing has been impressive, but if the test kits are in shortage at this crucial stage, I fear our objective might be defeated, hence the extension of the lockdown to more weeks. Government has injected more into this fight but at this point, the more is not enough. Let’s procure more test kits and PPEs for our healthcare givers. That way, I believe we are close to winning the battle. Let’s fight more to win more. #Stayhome
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Source : Bright Makafui, Author/Conference Speaker (bm.makafui@gmail.com)
