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A former Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, is disappointed over President Nana Akufo-Addo’s decision to lift the lockdown imposed on the Greater Accra and Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Areas. According to him, the inadequate testing centres and upsurge in COVID-19 cases in the country defeat government’s decision to lift the lockdown. Speaking on the Point of View on Citi TV, Prof. Akosa said: “looking at the science of this whole distribution of COVID-19, one will realize that it has moved from the centre, Accra, towards the periphery…Even with our cases, there was still a lot of backlog in testing which we felt was not good enough [to warrant the lifting of the lockdown]. We needed a situation where more centres could have come online.” In anticipation of the President’s nation’s address on COVID-19 update on Sunday, 19th April, 2020, Prof. Akosa said he had expected an extension of the lockdown at least by two more weeks to enhance con...

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) says six candidates have been shortlisted for interview for the vacant Technical Director position. The six candidates, made up of three Ghanaians and three expatriates are currently undergoing interviews, through video conferencing, with a select committee of the GFA. The search for the Technical Director has come about following the departure of Mr. Samuel Francis Oti Akenteng whose contract expired at the end of March 2020. A statement on the FA’s website said, ” The Technical Director role is a prerequisite of FIFA and Ghana intends to appoint his successor as soon as possible. “It would be recalled that in March 2020, the GFA opened applications for the Position of a Technical Director for which over 100 people sent their applications. “The new Technical Director will be responsible for the technical development and progress of the GFA. His responsibilities also include planning and executing a long-term view of how to continually raise stand...

SITUATION UPDATE, COVID-19 OUTBREAK IN GHANA - 19TH APRIL 2020 The Ghana Health Service is supervising the completion of a backlog of laboratory samples which have been picked for testing as part of the COVID-19 testing exercise. This is after some 57,000 samples have already been successfully tested as at April 15th 2020. In the first batch of this backlog, an additional 198 have been found to be positive. This will bring Ghana’s total case count to 834 at the moment. The general public is however advised that this does not represent new infections that are occurring. It represents results from tests of a backlog of samples. The laboratories have been working day and night to test this large number of samples. Hopefully in the next few days all the testing would be completed. Total samples tested so far now stands at 60, 916 with 1.37 % testing positive. The results of these backlog of samples when released does not mean the number of new cases recorded on the day of the re...

Nana Tafregya Pallbearers Our charges will go up after Covid-19.   Taking the world by storm, Nana Tafregya Pallbearers in recent times have earned headlines on various news platforms including BBC. Exercising adroit skills in what they do, these pallbearers are lifting the mood at funerals in Ghana with flamboyant coffin-carrying dance forms, causing families to increasingly pay for their services in sending their loved ones off in grand style. The founder and leader of this group, Benjamin in a phone interview with Giovani Caleb on the 3FM Drive Thursday hinted that their charges will shoot up after the coronavirus pandemic. The group’s rate card varies from all black to all white, therefore differentiated by the choice of attire to be worn for the occasion. Benjamin, in the interview, indicated that business is booming even in these trying times as they receive bookings every week. The group, consisting of 100 members, with 5 per cent of them being ladies, has its mana...

Monies generated from COVID-19 Trust Fund will be fairly distributed-  Justice  Sophia-Akuffo Chife Justice  Sophia-Akuffo Chairperson of the COVID-19 Trust Fund, Madam Sophia Akuffo says all monies presented to the fund will be accounted for. President Nana Akufo-Addo last month established the COVID-19 Trust Fund to solicit support from Ghanaians as the country fights the Coronavirus pandemic. Speaking to Citi News after a number of companies made donations to the fund; Madam Sophia Akuffo said the money will be used for its intended purpose. “The amounts will go into the main Fund. But, in the disbursement, we will make sure that we reach as many communities as possible. The Fund was set up to supplement and complement the government’s effort in combatting the virus. Medical centres and frontline activities will benefit and also the poor and vulnerable people in the community will also benefit,” she said. President Nana Akufo-Addo in his fifth national a...

Covid-19 Fight: Betway Supports Government With GH¢ 150,000 Leading online sports betting provider, Betway, has presented a cheque of Gh¢ 150,000 to the government’s COVID-19 Trust Fund to help lessen the effect of the spread of COVID-19 in Ghana. Betway – which operates in Ghana as Sports Betting Group Ghana Limited – donated the sum when its Director and Board Secretary, Dr. Kweku Ainuson led a team from the organisation to the Ministry of Information on Thursday 16 April 2020. John Peter Amewu, Minister Of Energy received the cheque on behalf of the government in the presence of Magnus Rex Danquah Jnr. (Country Manager – Operations) and Kwabena Oppong-Nkrumah (Country Manager – Marketing). Speaking to the media after the handover, Dr Kweku Ainuson, who led the Betway Team said, “ As the country continues to be in lockdown, we are all experiencing the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are committing GH¢ 150,000 to help fight COVID-19 as well as its related chall...

Security forces enforcing the lockdown in parts of Nigeria have killed more people than coronavirus itself, a local rights group says. Evidence of the killings comes from members of the public who rang their hotline or sent in videos, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) adds. It says law enforcers have killed 18 people in Nigeria since lockdowns began on 30 March. Coronavirus has killed 12 people, according to health ministry data. Nigeria, which has a population of about 200 million people, has reported 407 cases of coronavirus but there are fears it could spread quickly in overcrowded parts of the country. Africa Live: More on this and other stories Whipping, shooting and snooping during Africa lockdowns Why lockdowns may not be the answer in Africa Nigeria's mega churches adjust to empty auditoriums Nigerian security forces have a reputation for brutality. At least 1,476 people were killed by state actors in the country over the past year, says the Council on Fore...

 The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has commended the hardworking staff of the Covid 19 Call Centre for their contributions to the national fight against the Covid 19 pandemic. Speaking during a visit to the Centre on Thursday 16th April, 2020 Vice President Bawumia emphasised that the gathering and availability of data has played a significant role in Ghana’s battle against COVID-19 so far. Government’s reliance on data anchors Ghana’s approach to the fight, which is based on testing, tracing contacts of confirmed cases and treating them, and the work of the Covid 19 Centre is a major source of such primary data, the Vice President indicated. “As you know, Government runs on information, and information produces data. We can then analyse the data and take decisions based on that. The setting up of this centre is very important because government needs to hear the people on the issues that concern them. “The information being gathered here is key to Government...

A 46-year-old man who tested positive for Coronavirus, Simon Okafor Chukudi has bolted in the Upper West Region. The Nigerian national was kept under surveillance at his residence by officials of the Ghana Health Service awaiting the outcome of his test results for COVID-19 which came out positive last Monday. The Upper West Regional Director of Health Services, Dr. Osei Kuffuor Afreh who confirmed the development to Citi News said after breaking the news about Okafor’s status to him the same day, health officials followed up to his residence at Wapaani, a suburb of Wa to transport him to the isolation centre at the Upper West Regional Hospital but he was nowhere to be found. “He was among the six new cases we recorded recently. Unfortunately for us, when we went to send him to the isolation centre, he could not be traced,” Dr. Afreh said. The Regional Health Director appealed to the public, especially residents of Wa to help trace the whereabouts of Mr. Okafor. Meanwhile, Citi New...

Since the virus emerged late last year, COVID-19 has largely been a disease of the Global North. Its worst and deadliest effects have been felt in Europe, East Asia, and North America. But that is likely to change. As the pandemic reaches its peak and begins to slow in these places, epidemiological models suggest it will accelerate in developing nations— including those in sub-Saharan Africa. There is much we still don’t know about COVID-19, but we can be sure of this: the African experience with the disease will be different than anything we’ve seen so far. The continent’s health systems are less well-equipped than others, for instance. Data suggest that even a single Manhattan hospital has more intensive care beds than most African countries. When I joined the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation last year as its Africa Director, I never imagined that the continent would be dealing with a situation of this magnitude, and I salute the continent’s leaders for adopting mea...

Two weeks since the institution of enhanced surveillance, restriction of movement and continuous public education to prevent the spread of cases of COVID-19, several cases have been recorded As of 14th April 2020, at 23:00HRS, a total of 50,719 persons have been tested with 641 being positive for COVID-19. The breakdown of the 641 positive cases are as follows: seventeen (17) have been treated, reverted to negative on repeat tests and discharged. Furthermore, 66 have tested negative once and awaiting second test. This brings together a total of 83 cases that have been recovered / discharged. 548 cases have been categorised as mild disease and are on treatment, two (2) are categorized as moderate to severe cases, none in critical state currently and eight (8) have died. The five (5) new cases were recorded in the following locations; one from Adenta Municipality and two (2) each from Ayawaso East and Ayawaso Central Municipalities. With the exception of one of the cases from ...

SITUATION UPDATE, COVID-19 OUTBREAK IN GHANA AS AT 13 APRIL 2020, 23:00 HRS In the past two weeks since the institution of enhanced surveillance, restriction of movement and continuous public education to prevent the spread of cases of COVID-19. Several cases have been recorded as a result of intensive contact tracing and testing. As of 13th April 2020, at 23:00HRS, a total of 44,421 persons have been tested with 636 being positive for COVID-19. The breakdown of the 636 positive cases are as follows: seventeen (17) have been treated, reverted to negative on repeat tests and discharged, 605 cases have been categorised as mild disease and are on treatment, two (2) are categorized as moderate to severe cases, none in critical state currently and eight (8) have died. Of the 636 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 268 were reported from the routine surveillance, 253 from enhanced surveillance activities and 115 from travellers under mandatory quarantine in both Accra and Tamale. Regions ...

Zoomlion extends disinfection exercise to corporate Ghana Management of Zoomlion Ghana Limited has initiated a programme to disinfect corporate institutions and other organisation in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Zoomlion is undertaking this exercise through its vector control company Vectorpes and other private vector control companies. According to Zoomlion Ghana Limited, the exercise is being done “at a highly subsidized cost of 50% discount” to enable “every household and business to benefit in order to curb the further spread of the virus as our support to Corporate Ghana.” It also added that the initiative is in line with measures put in place by the government of Ghana to minimise the spread and impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on Ghana. The corporate mass disinfection and fumigation project, is being undertaken with media partners including Citi TV, the Despite Group of Companies, Multimedia Group, Metro TV and GhOne TV among others. It is aimed at dis...

IMF approves US$1 billion loan to Ghana for COVID-19 fight The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved the disbursement of US$1 billion to Ghana to be drawn under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF). The money is to help Ghana address the “fiscal and balance of payments needs” and also help the country to improve confidence in economy especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The COVID-19 pandemic is already impacting Ghana severely. Growth is slowing down, financial conditions have tightened, and the exchange rate is under pressure.” “This has resulted in large government and external financing needs. The authorities have timely and proactively responded to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana and support affected households and firms,” the IMF remarked. The Fund said it was still monitoring Ghana’s situation and is ready to provide policy advice and further support as needed. Following the Executive Board’s decision, Mr. Zhang, Deputy Managing Direct...

Dr. Abubakar Abdulai, has disclosed that 43 contacts have been traced after a 19-year old boy died of covid-19 in the region. The North East Regional Health Director, Dr. Abubakar Abdulai, has disclosed that 43 contacts have been traced after a 19-year old boy died of covid-19 in the region. According to him, out of the 43 contacts seven are health staff made of three from a herbal clinic where the deceased first visited and four from the Walewale government hospital. He indicated that they have started with enhanced surveillance to get all the family members of the deceased and secondary contacts and advice them to self quarantine. Dr. Abdulai disclosed that their samples will be taken and sent to the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR) for testing. A 19-year old boy died at the Walewale government hospital after he was brought to the facility coughing and showing symptoms of Covid-19. The hospital took a sample and sent to the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Res...

Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has launched the Covid-19 tracker  Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has launched the Covid-19 tracker application aimed at supporting the government’s response to the coronavirus(COVID-19) outbreak in Ghana. Dr. Bawumia in a live telecast during the virtual launch of the app, said the tracker is intended to provide assistance which will augment the state’s efforts in the fight against the global pandemic. “The Covid-19 App tracker is an easy to use digital tool that is designed to help people self-report their systems and assess their health symptoms for Covid-19 risk, ” he said. He said the approach of the government in responding to Covid-19 has been backed by science, adding that the information the tracker will be providing will help in taking the right decisions. “The launch is therefore yet another important step by the government to leapfrog using technology to find solutions to the havoc,...

Two Nigeriens who were arrested by police officers during the lockdown period have tested positive for COVID-19. According to police, the two, who were stopped while they were on board a taxi cab with their luggage, could not give tangible reasons for their movement, sparking suspicion hence their arrest. Further investigations by police triggered a medical test on them at the Ridge Hospital. Citi News‘ Umaru Sanda Amadu reported that, “on April 5, they [Police] found them moving with a taxi driver. The police noticed that there were inconsistencies in their answers. When asked where they were coming from, they said they came from Niger and had their luggage on them. The police took them into custody and then to the Police hospital and eventually to the Ridge Hospital where they had their samples taken.” Their results came out COVID-19 positive. “The police took them to a secluded holding area and on Saturday, [April 13] the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) ret...