This week has been a buildup on the fight against COVID-19 pandemic. Figures have shot up and still, Accra is in the lead with the highest number of recorded cases; 514 out of the total 641 cases recorded country-wide. The “filla” that made it for this weeks summary include;
Launch of the Covid-19 Tracking Application
Vice-President Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia on Monday launched an application called the ‘GH COVID-19 Tracker’ after a scheduled online concert which saw some big wigs in the Ghanaian music industry performing. It is aimed at helping track people with the virus and those who have had contact with others. It tracks telephone numbers of people who have recently visited other countries to help the Ghana Immigration Service determine who to give an extra layer of screening. It also answers questions about the disease, helps in checking for symptoms and some pertinent risk factors. There is a dependence on the application to help track people who have come into contact with carriers of the disease.
The application whose creation is spearheaded by the ministry of communications has since its launch come under some criticism. According to a report by BBC Pidgin, Mr Bright Simons, founder of the technology company, mpedigree for instance questions why the government will create an application which citizens cannot use because they cannot access on app stores. He says this on the grounds that Apple and Google, the most popular application stores that can reach the whole country have blocked the use of such tracking applications until they rework on their systems and vet applications they are going to host on their platforms. Ghanaquest.com’s checks for the application on Google play store reveals that it is currently unavailable for download. This is same for Apple store as well. Many have shared their opinions in relation to this as well. Ghana joins a few countries in the world to have made such a move. These countries include China, South Africa, Singapore, Korea and Russia.
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Accra’s Numbers for COVID-19 Cases
Our report last week indicated that of all the recorded cases in the country, Accra has recorded the highest numbers standing at 329 out of the total 408 cases that was recorded. Today, the total number of recorded cases country-wide is 835. Accra holds the highest number with a total of 685 cases. Like we reiterated in last week’s post, let’s be extra-careful Accra. So far, the country has 99 people who tested positive in the category of ‘recovered’.
NPP Suspends Party Primaries
The New Patriotic Party on Tuesday officially announced the indefinite suspension of its primaries that was scheduled to have come off on the 25th of April, 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic especially on the grounds of the president’s ban on public gatherings. The elections was to take place in constituencies the party has incumbent (sitting) members of parliament.
Former President Mahama Distributes food
In the course of the Week, former president and flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress for Election 2020, Mr. John Dramani Mahama was also in the news as he led the distribution of food to some 20,000 households in areas under lockdown. He also charged the government to explore traditional medicine in the country’s bid to fight the novel coronavirus.
Read More: Covid-19: Mahama distributes food items to 20k households
Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye Appointed Deputy Minister for Health
MP for the Ledzokuku Constituency and board chair of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Bernard was vetted and subsequently approved by parliament as the new deputy minister for health. His appointment comes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read More: VETTING: Dr Oko Boye chooses partial lockdown over total national lockdown
Minister’s Press Briefing
The week also saw press briefings at the ministry of information where various frontline actors meet the press to give more clarity to issues that come up as well as updates. Thursday’s press briefing saw a twist as one of the patients who is among the 99 recovered COVID-19 patients, Mr. Fred Kwaku Drah, shared his experience with the country. He advised citizens to adhere especially to lock down regulations.
Old Fadama Demolitions
The last story to make up for this week’s wrap of ‘Accra This Week’ is the demolition of over 1000 slum structures at Old Fadama, a suburb of Accra. According to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, the exercise was to pave way for the dredging of the Korle Lagoon in a bid to prevent the perennial floods Accra is hit with in the rainy season.
While residents of the area report that they were not given prior notice, some human rights advocacy groups like Amnesty International have described the exercise as untimely and insensitive. The minority in Parliament describes it as insensitive. Residents since the demolitions have been sited in various reports sleeping in the open.
Also Read: Structures demolished people seen sleeping openly outside at old fadama during lockdown – (Photos)
