141 CONFIRMED CASES OF CORONAVIRUS, 5 DEATHS AND 2 RECOVERED IN GHANA

NEWS SITUATION TRACKING

141 CONFIRMED CASES OF CORONAVIRUS, 5 DEATHS AND 2 RECOVERED IN GHANA

Location: Ghana

Issue: COVID-19 Disease recorded in Ghana

Date: MARCH 12-27, 2020

COMMUNITY PROFILING

Population: The current population of Ghana is 30,875,999 as of Sunday, March 15, 2020, based on Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data.1

Basic Demography and Geography of Hotspots: Ghana lies in the center of the Gulf of Guinea coast, 2,420 km of land borders with three countries: Burkina Faso (602 km) to the north, Ivory Coast (720 km) to the west, and Togo (1,098 km) to the east. To the south are the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean.

Ethnicity: There are over 100 ethnic groups living in Ghana. Akan 45.3%, Mole-Dagbon 15.2%, Ewe 11.7%, Ga-Dangme 7.3%, Guan 4%, Gurma 3.6%, Grusi 2.6%, Mande-Busanga 1%, other tribes 1.4%, other 7.8% (Ghana Statistical Service, Census 2000)

Significance of the State: Although relatively small in area and population, Ghana is one of the leading

CRITICAL STAKEHOLDERS

Direct Actors: • The Corona Virus

Affected Persons: • 141 persons affected so far, 2 recovered, 5 dead

Interested Actors:

• The Ghana Police Service, National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO)
• The Ghana Armed Forces,
• National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO),
• Ministry of Works and Housing,
• Ministry of Information,
• Sanitation Ministry
• Interior Ministry
• Members of Parliament
• Civil Society

INCIDENT PROFILING

The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The outbreak was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei, China in December 2019 and recognised as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020.4

Globally, 662, 42 case of coronavirus has been confirmed. 30830 deaths from coronavirus and 141468 recoveries have been reported. The United States currently tops the case incidence statistics with about 123271 total cases as at b8th of March, 2020.5

The Government of Ghana, through the Consolidated Fund and Donor Partner Fund sources, has set aside $100 million, as part of preparations towards the fight against the coronavirus. 6

In a televised address from the Ministry of Information on Thursday March 12, 2020, , the Health Minister indicated that two cases had been confirmed in Ghana. Laboratory results of the two confirmed cases were received at the same time from the Noguchi Memorial Institute countries of Africa, partly because it was the first black African country south of the Sahara to achieve independence from colonial rule and regarded as a bastion of democracy in West Africa. Ghana’s growing economic prosperity and democratic political system have made it a regional power in West Africa.

Economy: Currency: Ghanaian cedi GDP: 47.33 billionUSD GDP per capita: 1,641.49 USD GNI per capita: 4,490 PPP dollars GDP growth rate: 8.5% annual change Internet users: 14.1% of the population GNI: 129.4 billion PPP dollars (All World Bank figures)

Politics: Ghana is a unitary constitutional democracy with a president who is both head of state and head of the government. Ghana has a multi-party system, However, there are two dominant political parties (the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party)

Religion: Christians 68.8% (Pentecostal / Charismatic 24.1%, Protestant 18.6%, Catholic 15.1%, other 11%), (2000 census)2 Muslim 15.9%, Traditional 8.5%, other 0.7%, none 6.1% (2000 census)3 Organizations

• Embassies and High Commissions
• Schools
• All hospitals
• Ministry of Health
• National Commission for Civic Education
• The Immigration Service
• Churches

of Medical Research. Both individuals returned to Ghana, one from Norway, and the other from Turkey.7 The confirmation of the first two cases led to a domino-effect-situation in which several institutions and organizations cancelled planned activities (Ghana Armed Forces Open day8 ), shut down facilities (German Swiss International School9 , Ghana International School (GIS)10, IMF Ghana office 11 ) and diplomatc missions (Norwegian 12 , Canadian High Commission, Netherlands13).

Between March 15 and 21, 2020, 21 cases were recorded from both the Greater Accra Region and the Ashanti Region with the most number of cases reported in the former.[14] [15] [16] [17][18].

Between March 22 and 26, 2020, the case count had reached a total of 132. 19 This means 111 new cases have been recorded after March 21, 2020. The sudden spike in case incidence was a result of the mandatory quarantine and compulsory testing for all travelers entering Ghana, as directed by the president. The associated death count at this stage is 3 persons.20

Death statistics rose to 5, 2 infected patients recovered, and 9 additional cases recorded between March 27 t0 28, 2020. One confirmed case was for the first time reported in the Upper West Region of the country.

In summary, confirmed cases from routine surveillance is 62 and the number of cases recorded as a result of mandatory quarantine is 79. Total case count now rests at 141. 21 The Greater Accra still habours the highest number of cases(54 routine, 79 mandatory quaratine), flowed by the Ashanti Region (7) and then the 3 Upper West Region (1) as at March 28, 2020.

RESPONSES

• The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo, has given directives to shut down all public gatherings, schools and travels. Citizens have been advised to take their hygiene seriously.
• Again, restriction has been placed on movement of persons in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA, which includes Awutu Senya East), and the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area and contiguous districts, for a period of two (2) weeks starting from Monday, March 20, 2020. Generally, all air and sea portsas well as borders have been closed down to reduce the spread of the disease.
• Confirmed cases are being managed in isolation while contacts have been enlisted and tracked by the Ghana Health Service.
• Mandatory quarantine measures have been put in place for persons coming into Ghana. Citizens have been advised to stay home to cut down on the spread.22
• Government, through the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) launched a national disinfection and sensitizing programme for markets and market women across the country as part of measures to fight the coronavisrus pandemic.23
• The private sector, particularly some notable individuals, churches and other generous organizations have supported the government by donating logistics e.g. coveralls, nose masks, N95 Respirators, face shields, goggles, aprons, examination gloves, heavy-duty gloves, gumboots and hand sanitizers to bolster effort to mitigate the spread of the virus.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• The Government should consider mass testing. This has become necessary because of the confirmed cases routine surveilance, and also the nature of the virus as well as the fact that carriers of the virus may not show visible symptoms.
• The Government should continue to strengthen coordination of responses at the national, regional and local levels through robust inter-agency collaboration and partnership with the civil society.
• Information dissemination to sensitize the public on personal safety and hygiene is imperative. To achieve this, the Government should strengthen partnership with the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), civil society organizations, local NGOs, the media, traditional authority and religious institutions. This should further be utilized in enforcing the measures initiated by the Government to curb the spread of the pandemic.
• Enforcement of Government directives – social distancing, closure of churches, mosques, markets etc by the security agencies and task force is key in mitigating the spread of the pandemic.
• The need for Government responses to prioritize protection of vulnerable populations including the aged, pregnant women, disable etc is important in preventing fatalities associated with COVID-19 pandemic.

22 https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/national/travellers-in-mandatory-quarantine-make-up-more-than-half-of-ghanas-coronavirus-cases/ 23 https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Shops-close-for-coronavirus-fumigation-902182

1 https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/ghana-population/ 4 WHO Director-General’s opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 – 11 March 2020″. World Health Organization. 11 March 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2020 5 https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ Accessed 28th March 2020 6 https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/US-100m-coronavirus-cash-from-Consolidated-Fund-Donor-Partner-Fund-Oppong-Nkrumah-893215 Situation Tracking is a periodic analytical report designed by WANEP through its National Early Warning System (NEWS) to monitor the changing trends of specific conflict threats as civil society support to peace and security in Ghana 2

2 https://www.commisceo-global.com/resources/country-guides/ghana-guide 3 Ibid 7 https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/health/Two-cases-of-imported-coronavirus-confirmed-in-Ghana-893245 8 https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Ghana-Armed-Forces-cancels-Open-Day-amidst-coronavirus-scare-893971 9 https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Coronavirus-German-Swiss-International-school-shuts-down-893764 10 https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Coronavirus-GIS-shuts-down-894043 11 https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/business/IMF-shuts-Ghana-office-over-coronavirus-893875 12 https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Coronavirus-Norwegian-Embassy-in-Ghana-shuts-down-after-staff-tested-positive-894154 13 https://citinewsroom.com/2020/03/coronavirus-canadian-high-commission-in-ghana-shuts-down/ 14 https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/4-more-Coronavirus-cases-confirmed-in-Ghana-895039 15 http://www.ghanahealthservice.org/covid19/ 16 Ibid 17 ibid 18 ibid 19 https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/national/ghanas-coronavirus-case-load-now-in-triple-digits-at-132/ 20 https://www.ghanahealthservice.org/covid19/archive.php 21 Ibid Situation Tracking is a periodic analytical report designed by WANEP through its National Early Warning System (NEWS) to monitor the changing trends of specific conflict threats as civil society support to peace and security in Ghana