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Confirmed COVID-19 cases hit over 12,000 …death toll now 58 with 4,328 recoveries

Ghana’s coronavirus (COVID-19) case count has shot up to12,193 following confirmation of 229 new cases.

Of the number, while 4,328 recoveries have been recorded, 58 infected persons have died so far.

Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, addressing the COVID-19 press briefing in Accra yesterday, said, three out of four of the new deaths were recorded within the Greater Accra Region.

He stated that the Ashanti Region confirmed the most number of new cases at 70 while the Central and Savanna regions recorded 42 and 34 cases respectively.

Presidential Advisor on Health and member of the Presidential COVID-19 Taskforce, Dr Nsiah Asare dismissed concerns from pressure group, OccupyGhana, that the government was “massaging” the figures on confirmed cases saying that all figures are from the local level and authenticated at the national level.

“The figures that you see, that’s what we put forward. We don’t generate any figures from the policy level. The presidential task-force for that matter from the presidency doesn’t generate any figures.

“There is an implementing agency, so this COVID-19 fight is led by the Ghana Health Service, the teaching hospitals and the Ministry of Health is the policy level who is also organising them and then we have a presidential task-force,” he stated.

Dr Asare added that “we see the figures as you have seen here today and then we then use the figures to plan and monitor whatever is going on.  We then target the regions and the districts where we are to send resources. 

“We don’t generate any figures; we don’t manipulate any figures at the presidency or for that matter the presidential task-force level. When the figures are put forward, we take it, plan with it, monitor and then supervise whatever is going on in the country.”

In a statement on Monday, OccupyGhana said “There is cause to suspect that the death numbers are being massaged. The reported 54 deaths (as of June 14, 2020) so far cannot be right.

 For instance, even though 38 deaths have been reported from the Ashanti Region alone, less than 20 of those deaths are included in the national count.

It said that if the public suspects under-reporting, there would be a loss of trust in the reporting system and that would result in consequences which would influence public behavioural responses.

BY CLAUDE NYARKO ADAMS

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