COVID-19 testing: Results from 10,000 samples to determine next line of action

• Posted on April 10, 2020April 10, 2020
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

The results of about 10,000 more samples in the coming week will determine the government’s next line of action in the fight against the outbreak of COVID-19 in Ghana, President Nana Akufo-Addo has disclosed.

He says, the outcome of these tests will give us a “clearer picture to enable us to take a decision on the way forward”.

In a late-night televised addressed on Thursday, President Akufo-Addo mentioned that the results of the majority of the samples taken so far give a clear indication that the country is better positioned in terms of the number of positive and the level of lateral infection.

“Whilst the results are encouraging, in suggesting a limited number of positives and community spread, we expect to be able to test some ten thousand (10,000) additional samples in the coming week to give us a clearer picture to enable us to take a decision on the way forward”, he remarked.

Samples breakdown

The government says 37,405 samples have been taken, of which  31,933 are in Accra with the remaining 5,472 are in Kumasi.

As of Wednesday, April 8, a total of 14,611 contacts of the samples collected have been tested for the virus in Accra and Kumasi.

For Accra, 11,308 contacts were tested, and 52, i.e. 0.46%,  of them, were found to be positive.

In Kumasi, 3,303 contacts have been tested, and 25, i.e. 0.76% have been found to be positive.

In total, 77 positive cases were recorded in Accra and Kumasi, representing 0.53% of the 14,611 tested.

But, President Akufo-Addo who touted the government’s measures taken thus far quicky added that more need to be done despite the few successes taken to minimize the spread of the virus.

“It appears that our common efforts have been modestly successful in containing the virus and minimizing its spread. Undoubtedly, the decisions taken from day one (1) to act quickly and decisively, and, impose what may have seemed like harsh restrictions, have now proven to be effective, and have saved a lot of lives. However, this fight is not yet over, and we are by no means out of the woods yet”, he advised.

79% of COVID-19 cases in Ghana were imported 

Ghana’s cases of the novel Coronavirus are 378 as of Thursday, April, 9, 2020

The new cases were detected as a result of the ongoing enhanced contact tracing and testing exercise.

President Akufo-Addo disclosed that 79% of Ghana’s COVID-19 cases were imported.

-citi