Digital JUNE 22, 2020

Digital JUNE 22, 2020.qxp_Layout 1 6/22/20 7:38 PM Page 4
DAILY HERITAGE DIGITAL TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2020
WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
Dear Ghana, have we
decided to live with the virus?
BY OCCUPYGHANA
THE OUTBREAK
of Covid-19 surprised
many leaders
around the world.
Several had to institute
lockdowns in
major parts of their countries to
stem the spread of the virus.
However, this led to massive
economic downturns in their
countries. To deal with this reality,
many leaders have opened their
countries up again and are countenancing
an express or implied policy
of ‘Living with the Virus.’
The health reality
in Ghana
We acknowledge the initial successes
that the government has
had with containing the spread of
Covid-19 within Ghana, which
has even attracted the favourable
attention of some international
commentators. However, we
should not be lulled into a false
sense of security.
Ambulances are not showing
up when people call 112. Tests are
delayed on account of suspected
depletion in reagents, short
staffing etc. There’s a complete
lack of candour from officialdom
on infections. A good case in
point is the real possibility that
there is an outbreak of Covid-19
among parliamentarians and yet
that fact is being hidden and all
we get are conflicting statements
and behaviour that is not in line
with how to deal with this disease.
The case count is growing
steadily by the day - about 200 to
300 new cases per day. At the last
count, we had 7652 confirmed active
cases even though that number
could be higher (the total
number of confirmed cases is
11,964.)
There is cause to suspect that
the death numbers are being massaged.
The reported 54 deaths so
far cannot be right. For instance,
even though 38 deaths have been
reported from the Ashanti Region
alone, less than 20 of those deaths
are included in the national count!
If the public suspects under reporting
etc, there will be a loss of
trust in the reporting system and
that will have consequences that
will influence public behavioural
responses.
Several healthcare workers
have been infected and some have
died, sadly. This points to the sad
fact that our doctors and nurses
and frontline health workers do
not have adequate PPE. Our
holding and treatment facilities are
running out of space and just a
few days ago, the Special Advisor
on Health at the Presidency
lamented the
fact that we do
not have
enough critical
care
staff. We
also do
not
have
enough
critical
care
beds.
Hospitals
are getting
overwhelmed
with spill overs of
designated areas for suspected
and confirmed cases into
emergency rooms and wards otherwise
not assigned. The result of
this, with delays in getting test results,
is a desperate attempt to
shorten hospital stay and increase
availability of bed space by discharging
patients before the posttreatment
test results. The
unfortunate occurrence has led to
some being discharged but with
their repeat tests coming back
positive after their discharge. This
is disheartening and should not be
allowed as we seek to fight this
pandemic with professionalism
and integrity.
Contact tracing is not being
done at the levels needed anymore.
The government must answer
allegations that because contact
tracers were paid GHS70
instead of the promised GHS150
per day, they have walked out. The
result is that there isn't much contact
tracing going on at the moment.
And yet we, Ghanaians, are not
doing the things that
have been
shown to
reduce
the
spread
of the
disease - no
physical or social
distancing and
an unwillingness to wear face
masks. Even elected and other
high-ranking government officials
are guilty of this. The country’s
success in suppressing the spread
of this disease was due in part to
the early and aggressive lockdown
strategy, minimising the opportunity
for transmission of the disease
in strategic areas. If the
lockdown is not economically feasible,
should we not be pursuing
other measures that reduce transmission
and do not affect the
economy as much?
Re-opening public schools
Following that line of thought,
is it a wise decision to reopen
schools even if it is just for Forms
2 and 3 SHS, Form 3 JHS and
final-year students in our tertiary
institutions?
We acknowledge that to ensure
social distancing, the President directed
that JHS 3 classes are to
comprise of a maximum of 30
students and SHS classes a maximum
of 25 students. Prior to the
students arriving, the schools are
supposed to be fumigated and disinfected.
Once the students arrive,
each student, teacher and nonteaching
staff are to be provided
with re-usable face masks by the
Ministry of Education.
Yet we worry about the wisdom
and safety of this measure,
looking at how fast the disease is
spreading now. The belief that the
virus does not affect children is
false. Children and teenagers do
get the disease and then spread it
to adults who are more vulnerable.
Also, the virus induces an inflammatory
condition in children
and teenagers that can be deadly.
Looking at the behaviour of
the general Ghanaian population,
how sure are we that the JHS and
SHS students are going to wear
their masks and social-distance
not only in the classrooms but
also when they leave the classrooms
and in the dormitories?
How good is personal hygiene
going to be at a time when it is of
utmost importance? For instance,
are all schools going to be assured
of the running water needed for
the basic hand-washing protocol?
If we are not careful, these
We are asking these questions because we do not think
that the need to get the students to be physically present
for exams is worth the risk of having the disease break
out in our schools. We are not convinced that if students
get sick in schools, there are adequate resources to test
and treat them.
schools could turn into hotspots
for disease transmission and the
students could become superspreaders.
Of course, students have been
impacted by lockdown. Their
learning has been affected, even
where there are robust online and
at-home lessons underway. But at
this point in the school year, is it
really worth the risk of reopening
schools? If the whole aim is for
them to finish their exams, can we
put resources into getting students
to take these exams online? How
about students being given timebound
extended essays and/or
open book examinations to write
at home? How about combining
all of those with continuous assessment
grades to arrive at a final
exam score for all such students?
We are asking these questions
because we do not think that the
need to get the students to be
physically present for exams is
worth the risk of having the disease
break out in our schools. We
are not convinced that if students
get sick in schools, there are adequate
resources to test and treat
them.
Concluding comments
If the government has decided
to pursue a policy of ‘living with
the virus,’ then the healthcare system
and the population should be
prepped for this. Let’s just remember
that Sweden tried the method
and has one the highest levels of
deaths per million in the world.
We acknowledge the renewed
emphasis on enforcing social distancing
and the wearing of masks.
This should be across the board
and must include all government
officials. They have to lead by example.
Large social gatherings should
be continued to be banned.We
should re-dedicate resources into
testing and contact tracing.
Recent studies have shown that
not all patients who get severely ill
need ventilators. We should invest
in cheaper non-invasive oxygen
therapy solutions.
Also, the use of convalescent
plasma has been shown to reduce
mortality. The Ministry of Health
should start an aggressive push to
harvest and store plasma from recovered
patients.
At the start of this outbreak,
Ghana showed the world that we
could do a lot with the little we
had. This took resolve and great
leadership. We should not lose
that now when the stakes may be
much higher.
For God and Country