President Nana Akufo-Addo’s Health Advisor, Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare has replied the World Health Organization on its projection of a worst case of Coronavirus in Africa in the coming months.
World Health Organization (WHO) have told African countries to prepare for the worst in this Coronavirus pandemic.
Though Africa is the least affected continent, the WHO fears the public health systems could become quickly overwhelmed by increasing numbers of the virus infected persons.
They have projected millions of people to die of the pandemic in Africa.
According to the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Africa could see anywhere between 300,000 and 3.3 million deaths.
Africa’s COVID-19 Case
The first confirmed COVID-19 case in Africa was reported in Egypt on February 14 and since then there have been more than 18,000 confirmed cases.
Algeria has recorded the most COVID-19 deaths in Africa with 392 according to Johns Hopkins University, with Egypt, Morocco and South Africa being the next hardest hit countries.
There are now more than over 24,600 confirmed cases of coronavirus across the continent, with a number of African countries imposing a range of prevention and containment measures against the spread of the pandemic.
According to the latest data by the John Hopkins University and Africa Center for Disease Control on COVID-19 in Africa, the breakdown remains fluid as countries confirm cases as and when. The whole of Africa has rising cases with only two countries holding out as of April 18.
Ghana’s COVID-19 Case
Ghana’s coronavirus case count is 1,154 with 120 recoveries and 9 deaths.
This number has been recorded following government and the health sector enhanced measures to go full-scale on detecting the infection of the virus in persons, particularly travelers and people who come into physical contact with transmissions.
The Director General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Patrick Aboagye disclosed that ”under the general surveillance, we have 401 cases that have reported positive. We still have the 115 travellers quarantined and tested positive and enhanced contact tracing in the last three weeks, we have 638 positives, bringing the number 1,154 cases as at today (April 22, 2020)”.
Addressing the issue in a press briefing on Wednesday, April 22, 2020, the President’s Health Advisor, Dr. Nsiah-Asare dismissed the WHO claims saying Ghana will not reach their projected figures.
He noted that though Ghana has recorded thousands of positive cases of Coronavirus, the reality is that the nation has recorded a lower rate of the infection.
He stated emphatically that there will not be three million deaths in the country and so declared as false the WHO hypothesis.
”It’s not true that Ghana will have 3 million people infected . . . It’s not true. We will never see that. Because as we speak now; as Dr. Aboagye said the number of deaths in the country is 9. Nine deaths, in fact, if you calculate according to the percentage of the people who have been infected; it’s not 0.7%. So, it’s nowhere near the 5%. If you look at the number of tests that we have done so far, we have 1,154 positivity which comes about 1.5% positivity of people that have been tested. And if you look at even the negative rate, it’s about 98.5%. So, we’re not getting near or we will never get near the WHO hypothesis,” he stated.
