Seth Kwame Acheampong, Eastern Regional Minister
The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Seth Kwame Acheampong, is worried about the surge of Covid-19 cases in the region, blaming the situation on nightlife activities in which people disregard the safety protocols as if the virus was not in existence.
According to him, in towns like Koforidua and Akropong, residents visit drinking bars, night clubs, among others, in large numbers without any regard for the safety protocols.
“Ladies and gentlemen, when you visit some places in the region, especially in Koforidua and Akropong, at night, you will be surprised that there’s a total disregard for the safety protocols.
“People go about doing their own things, visit the drinking spots and what have you, and you will understand what I am talking about: they do their things as if the Covid had vanished,” he lamented.
The Minister expressed these concerns at a Public Health Emergency Management Committee meeting on Covid-19 at the Eastern Regional Coordinating Council.
The meeting was attended by leaders of faith-based organisations, traditional authorities, market queens and transport organisations.
He appealed to the stakeholders to intensify educating on the Covid-19 protocols to stop the rising number of active cases and deaths.
He also charged the security personnel to enforce the protocols to the latter to help reduce the spread.
“The region has had some spots of infection, especially in some Senior High Schools in the Kwahu West Municipality; as such, there was the need for all to come on board and share ideas for the good of the region,” he explained the purpose of the meeting.
Disregard for protocols
The Eastern Regional Director of Ghana Health Service, Dr Winfred Ofosu, stated that there had been a lot of meeting with a lot of surveillance and contact tracing, but the challenge was that many people in the region were not observing the safety protocols.
He said because not everyone had received vaccination, observing the Covid-19 safety protocols remains the best way to minimize the rate of transmission and infection.
In a presentation, the Deputy Director of Public Health, Dr John Ekow Otoo, stated that the Eastern Region had recorded 2,555 positive cases this year, with a total of 191 active cases, and a case fatality of 2.1 per cent.
He said more health workers and students had been infected, adding that the hospitals do not have enough quarantine facilities, hence isolation is done in the homes of affected persons.
Dr Ekow Otoo tasked the security agencies to support the enforcement of mask wearing. He also urged the Regional Coordinating Council to make available PPEs and tablets for data management.
Members of the committee unanimously suggested measures such as periodic fumigation of public places, sensitization programmes and enforcement of the Covid-19 safety protocols as part of measures to stop the spread of the virus.
