Ghana records 26 new COVID-19 cases; total count now 313

313 cases of COVID-19 with six (6) deaths have been recorded. The regional distribution is: Greater Accra Region has most cases (274) followed by the Ashanti Region (25), Northern Region (10), Upper West Region (1), Eastern Region (1), Upper East Region (1) and Central Region (1) according to the Ghana Health Service.

The new cases leading to 313 COVID-19 cases recorded in Ghana result from enhanced contact tracing and testing is ongoing in Ghana and has resulted in an increased number of confirmed COVID-19 cases.

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They reported 161 cases from the routine surveillance, 37 from enhanced surveillance activities and those from travellers under mandatory quarantine in both Accra and Tamale are 115.

The period for mandatory quarantine for travellers who arrived 21-22 March 2020 has ended. A total of 1,030 travellers were quarantined during the period. Out of these, 79 (7.7%) were positive during the initial testing whilst 951 were negative.

Twenty-six (26) among those that were initially negative were found to have converted to be positive at the exit screening, bringing to a total of 105 which constitutes 10.2% among the travellers that were quarantined.

With regards to enhanced contact tracing and testing, as at 7th April 2020, a total of 11,016 samples from contacts have been processed and 37 (0.34%) have been confirmed positive for COVID-19.

The continuous rise in COVID-19 cases in Ghana from 287 in the last few days is worrying. The partial lockdown in Accra and Kumasi may be extended if the cases keep rising.