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How COVID-19 started in Ghana and the number of cases recorded

Ghana joined the ranks of countries around the world that are enforcing some form of restriction on movement with the hope of slowing down the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

Covid-19

The first two cases relating to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana were confirmed on March 12, 2020, when two people returned from Norway and Turkey.

On March 11, 2020, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo directed the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, to make the cedi equivalent of $US100 million available to enhance Ghana's coronavirus preparedness and response plan.

On March 12, the Health Minister Kwaku Agyemang-Manu announced Ghana's first two cases at an emergency press briefing.

The tests were performed at the Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medical Research, University of Ghana. The two cases were people who came back to the country from Norway and Turkey, beginning the contact tracing process.

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One case is a senior officer at the Norwegian Embassy in Ghana who had returned from Norway, while the other was a staff member at the UN offices in Ghana who had returned from Turkey.

On March 13, 2020, the country confirmed two cases which summed up to four cases in the country.

Ghana confirmed two cases that summed up to six cases in the country the next day and four new cases were confirmed on March 15, 2020.

Traveling to Ghana had been strongly discouraged until further notice and non-admittance of travelers from countries where at least 200 cases of COVID-19 were recorded was declared; this restriction did not apply to Ghanaian citizens and people with resident permits and the President banned all public gatherings including conferences, workshops, funerals, festivals, political rallies, church activities, and other related events to reduce the spread of COVID-19 at a press briefing on the state of COVID-19.

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Basic schools, Senior High Schools, and Universities, both public and private, have also been closed. Only BECE and WASSCE candidates are permitted to remain in school under social distancing protocols but they were forced to go home due to the increasing rate of the virus.

The cases of the coronavirus keep increasing daily in the country.

On April 30, 2020, 403 new cases are reported, bringing the total to 2,074. The death toll stands at 17 with 212 patients making recoveries. The Savannah, Bono, Ahafo, and Bono East Regions have not recorded any cases yet and the number of confirmed cases reached 2,169 after 95 new cases were recorded. One more patient died, bringing the death toll to 18. The number of recoveries was 229.

On May 7, 2020, 372 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total to 3,091. The number of recoveries was 303 and the deaths remained at 18. The Bono Region recorded its first case, bringing the number of regions affected with COVID-19 cases to 13.

251 new cases were confirmed on May 9, 2020, increasing the total to 4,263. The total recoveries increased to 378 with four deaths, bringing its tally to 22.

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Ghana's case count increased to 4,700 with 494 recoveries on May 10, 2020,.

In a televised address, the president extended the ban on social gatherings till the last day of May 2020.

The number of persons confirmed to have been infected with COVID-19 in Ghana now stands at 5,127 as of Tuesday, May 12, 2020. with 494 recoveries with 22 death, five critically ill.

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