172 passengers test positive for COVID-19 at KIA

One hundred and seventy-two positive COVID-19 cases have been recorded among some passengers arriving in the country at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA), President Akufo-Addo has said.

He said airlines must ensure that passengers arriving in the country comply with the 72-hours negative PCR test result directive.

President Akufo-Addo said, “with the imposition of stringent testing measures at the airport, we have, so far, been able to detect 172 positive cases amongst some 54,000 arriving international passengers. 

“The airport authorities will continue to demand that passengers arriving in the country should be in possession of a 72-hour old negative PCR test, and we will continue to sanction airlines that flout this directive,” he said.

Speaking in his 19th address to Ghanaians on measures being taken against the spread of the coronavirus, President Akufo-Addo said, “the health authorities will intensify the follow-up process of arriving passengers, even when they have tested negative to help ensure we have ruled out any possible infection that may have occurred during the period of embarkation and disembarkation.”

He said the Ministry of Health has been tasked, through the Ghana Health Service, “to liaise with all laboratories and testing facilities across the country to ensure that reporting procedures are ironed out and adhered to.”

Increasing cases

The president said in recent weeks, however, there has been a gradual change in the trajectory of the virus, with an increase in active cases from 398 cases recorded three weeks ago, 1,139 active cases, as at Friday, 6 November 2020. The total number of deaths now stands at 320, a great majority of them, still, with underlying illnesses, such as hypertension, diabetes, chronic liver disease and asthma. 

The number of daily infections is on the rise, from an average of twenty-five (25) new cases per day then, to an average of over one hundred and thirty (130) new cases per day in the course of the last two weeks. 

In Greater Accra, with the exception of two districts, all districts have reported cases. 

He said, “In contrast, we have only seen a cluster of cases in the other regions from only a handful of districts. These figures, obviously, give cause for concern, in view of what is happening in Europe and America, following the outbreak of a second wave of infections that is engulfing so many other countries.”  

He said an analysis of the active case data suggests that the Greater Accra Region accounts for some 75%, with Ashanti, Bono, Eastern and Western being responsible for 16% of active cases. 

The remaining 11 regions make up 4% of the cases, with arrivals at Kotoka International Airport responsible for the other 5%.

Reduction in compliance

President Akufo-Addo said, “Our observation, however, is that a reduction in compliance with the preventive protocols account for the increase in infections. 

“I have instructed the release of additional logistics, including vehicles, to the Ghana Health Service in order to help beef up contact tracing, and the supervision and monitoring of asymptomatic cases being managed from home. We are also employing the use of technology to augment our contact tracing efforts, as well as the supervision and monitoring of home care cases.”

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