GHS responds to OccupyGhana’s alleged suppression of Covid-19 data

• Posted on June 18, 2020June 18, 2020
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) in a response to an allegation of suppression of data on the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in Ghana has explained that it does not manipulate the data collated from the regions.

It said the reporting on data including deaths and recoveries at the national level goes beyond just numbers and includes epidemiological and clinical states of the cases, which requires a “bit of more time to verify and validate.”

OccupyGhana, a pressure group had raised concerns over the number of COVID-19 related deaths in the country, alleging that the government was under-reporting the death toll.

According to the group, the death toll from some regions does not correspond to the total number of deaths in the country.

A statement issued by Occupy Ghana on Monday, June 15, said the “massaging” of numbers could lead to mistrust among the public.

It said for instance that even though 38 deaths had been reported from the Ashanti Region, less than 20 of those deaths have been included in the national count.

“The case count is growing steadily by the day – about 200 to 300 new cases per day. At the last count, we had 7652 confirmed active cases even though that number could be higher (the total number of confirmed cases is 11,964.)

But responding, the GHS in a statement signed and issued by the Director-General, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye said “the Regional level data will normally be higher than the National data at any given time. There are Treatment Centers across the regions supported by the national Case Management team. All reported COVID-19 related data including deaths are reported through our reporting channels.”

Below is a copy of the GHS statement

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