COVID-19: Achimota School records cases of Delta variant - GHS

Some of them are Delta variant cases, the Ghana Health Services announced at a press conference on Sunday, July 4, 2021.

Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, told journalists that samples were taken from 843 students (348 boarders and 459 day students) and 36 teaching and non-teaching staff as of July 3, 2021.

One hundred thirty-five of the 550 results released so far, tested positive.

The results of 293 samples of day students are yet to come in.

The testing began after three students went to the school’s sickbay with influenza-like symptoms, Dr Kuma-Aboaye said.

They tested positive, were isolated and their contacts placed under mandatory quarantine.

Subsequently, several other students started exhibiting symptoms that triggered mass tracing and testing on campus.

As far as the general COVID-19 situation in schools is concerned, a total of 2,000 students in 351 schools at all levels have contracted the virus, so far.

Dr Kuma-Aboagye said: “We had a significant number of the initial testing we did at Achimota School as Delta variant”.

“So, once we have that we assume that because it is the source that was spread around, the majority of the variants there will be the Delta variant”.

“That is why we are doing the strategic testing of day students so that it doesn’t spill into the community”, he said.

The Ministry of Information, on Friday, July 2, 2021, announced that the Delta variant had been found in a community within the country.

“At 10:00hours on Friday, 2 July 2021, the Covid-19 task force was advised by the Ghana Health Service that the Delta variant of the SARS-Cov-2 virus has been recorded within a community (ie non-arriving passengers) in the latest round of genomic sequencing”, the Ministry posted on its Facebook page.

It said the “relevant agencies are taking the necessary steps to ensure that spread is contained”.

The positive persons, it noted, “are in good health”.

“The task force will provide further details at 13:00hours on Sunday, 4 July 2021”, the ministry promised.

It urged the general public to “adhere strictly to the COVID preventive etiquette while going about permitted activities”.

Meanwhile, about two weeks ago, six Delta variants of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19 virus) were detected from all the samples taken between April and June 2021 at the ports of entry, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) disclosed.