March 26

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DAILY HERITAGE DIGITAL MARCH 26, 2020
WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
IMF to evaluate Ghana’s $100m
request for COVID-19 fight
BY KOBINA WELSING
THE INTERNA-
TIONAL Monetary
Fund (IMF) is yet to
evaluate Ghana’s request
for Rapid
Credit Facility disbursement
to help fight the coronavirus.
Ghana made the 100-million
dollar request last week as part of
efforts by President Nana Addo
Dankwa Akufo-Addo to raise
money to fight the deadly coronavirus
disease.
The Finance Minister, Mr
Ofori-Atta, disclosed to Parliament
last week that Ghana had applied
to the World Bank to tap into a
$12-billion fast-track Covid-19 facility
and the IMF’s $10-billion facility
to address the deadly virus.
A statement by the IMF’s
African Department Director,
Abebe Aemro Selassie, on Tuesday
said “Last week, the IMF received
Ghana’s request for a disbursement
under the Rapid Credit Facility
to help the country address the
economic impact of the COVID-
19 pandemic.
“We are working hard to evaluate
the authorities’ request and
bring it forward for Executive
Board consideration as soon as
possible.”
Ghana has so far recorded 68
cases of COVID-19 with three
deaths.
The latest cases were recorded
from tests conducted on people
who arrived in Ghana on Sunday
and were mandatorily quarantined
by the government.
According to the Health Minister,
1030 people were mandatorily
quarantined after they arrived in
the country on Sunday and Monday.
Samples were taken from 611
people and out of that number185
•Some immigration officers at
Kotoka International Airport
of the samples were tested out of
which 26 tested positive for
COVID-19. More tests are still
being carried out according to the
Mr Agyeman Manu.
Globally, 423,469 people have
been infected with 18,909 deaths
and 109,153people having fully recovered.
China, Italy, USA, Spain, Germany
and the UK are the worst-hit
countries in the world with South
Africa and Egypt the hardest-hit
countries on the African continent.
All social gatherings have been
banned by the President with
Ghana’s borders also closed to
traffic. People arriving in the country
were locked for a 14-day
mandatory quarantine.
&Env.
Socialist Forum calls for
random mass
coronavirus testing
THE SOCIALIST
Forum of Ghana
(SFG) has called on
the government to
establish a regime
of random mass
testing and use school buildings,
hospitals and health facilities that
have not yet been commissioned
to serve as quarantine centres.
A statement from the SFG,
signed by Mr Blaise Tulo, the
Convener of the Group, and
copied to the Ghana News
Agency said the current situation
also required the total mobilization
of all sections of the Ghanaian
society to carry out relief
operations and intensify public
The Group also recommended an
immediate and unconditional lockdown
as the only effective means of
combatting the virus, given the fact
that other options like getting more
qualified health personnel and improving
the stock of hospital beds
were not currently available and
“any further delay would be detrimental
to the health of Ghana.”
education.
The Group also recommended
an immediate and unconditional
lockdown as the only effective
means of combatting the virus,
given the fact that other options
like getting more qualified health
personnel and improving the
stock of hospital beds were not
currently available and “any further
delay would be detrimental to
the health of Ghana.”
“The spread of the COVID-
19 should open our eyes to the reality
that health care cannot be
treated as a commodity, which can
be made available to only those
who can afford [it]. Healthcare
ought to be seen properly as a social
service, which ought to be accessible
to all citizens. The
socialization of health care is a
task, which cannot be ignored any
longer,” the statement said.
It said due to the pandemic,
the leadership of SFG on Monday,
March 23, 2020, suspended
all its activities, including cultural
events, public fora and film
shows.
The statement urged all members
to strictly follow the prescriptions
of the scientific
community on how to deal with
the pandemic.