The erratic spread of the COVID-19 virus has increased the number of infections in schools to 556, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has revealed.
A total of 139 schools have recorded cases from 14 regions since schools re-opened in mid-January after almost a year of closure.
North East and Savannah Regions are the only regions without any case, Director-General of the GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, said in his latest update.
He described the spread of the contagion as “sporadic” in an address on Friday, February 19, at a public engagement on the country’s COVID-19 vaccination plan.
The latest infections represent an increase of 291% since the last update on school infections.
On Tuesday, February 9, Dr Kuma-Aboagye said 142 COVID-19 positive cases had been recorded in some Junior and Senior High Schools in four regions.
The densely-populated Greater Accra region accounted for 56 positive cases from 23 schools at the time.
Ghana’s COVID-19 status
A total of 568 deaths had been recorded as of February 15, with 7,773 active infections.
Patients in critical condition were 28, and 92 were being managed for severe conditions.
Total cases have surged to 78 689, with discharged/recovered persons being 70, 348.
This is a decrease of almost 2% from the 7,931 active cases reported as of February 14.
“Active cases not increasing but high at a stagnant position,” Dr Kuma-Aboagye remarked.
With daily average infections between 500-700, he was optimistic that the number of infections would plummet in the coming days.
He said a 7-day moving average was “tapering at a point, and with adherence to protocols, we hope to see a decline”.
He identified poor face mask-wearing in the evening as a major problem.
He pointed out that the number of people who use face masks in the afternoon was higher than evenings, cautioning that the COVID-19 spread was not time-dependent.
Reduced cases at the Kotoka International Airport
The Ghana Health Service boss added that the country’s international airport had recorded a significant decline in detected infections.
According to him, the were 59 cases as of February 15 compared to the 480 registered in January.
