Coronavirus: Lock Down Cities With Most Cases – Graduate Physician Assistants

The Graduate Physician Assistants Association of Ghana (GRAPAG) is calling for the immediate lockdown of towns and cities with the most confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the country.

Ghana’s current count of recorded cases stands at 68 , with a death toll of three.

All the cases were recorded in the Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions.

In a statement signed by their President, Anthony Asare Arkoh, the physician assistants said the government should either “conduct mass testing of all towns and cities with most cases immediately or immediately lock down the towns and cities with most cases”.

Among other things, they also called on the government to “immediately enforce social distancing at the OPDS at all health facilities and amongst health professionals who were super-spreaders in Wuhan and Italy. Restrict the number of passengers for public transport (taxis, trotro and buses). Direct that all public transport on long journeys to have first aiders to monitor the clinical features of passengers before taking off and arrival.”

“The leadership of the Association anticipates the Ministry of Health opens the application portal for the recruitment of the over 200 Physician Assistants in accordance with the orders of His Excellency Nana Addo-Dankwa Akuffu Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana to assist in the COVID-19 pandemic immediately,” the statement added. Click here to read the full statement.

Ghana’s epicentres of coronavirus

Two cities – Accra in the Greater Accra Region and Kumasi in the Ashanti Region have been identified as the hotspots of COVID-19 in Ghana , Health Minister, Kwaku Agyemang Manu has said.

More 90% of the recorded cases are in Accra alone, while the remaining are in Kumasi.

Addressing the press on Tuesday, March 24, 2020, in Accra, the Health Minister said following the case management by health officials, “what we have identified so far is that we can describe two areas in Ghana now as our own epicentres. Accra and Tema together and Kumasi”.

“In Accra, we have deployed 98 field officers, epidemiologists and community health nurses who have been trained in tracing people. In Kumasi, we have deployed about 50 trained people who are also doing contact tracing,” the Minister added.

---citinewsroom