Speaking on Accra-based JoyNews, Dr Da Costa said the decreasing trend of active cases in the country is also a good thing which makes him hopeful that Ghana will overcome the virus soon when Ghanaians adhere to the safety protocols.
“Four (4) months after recording our first case, though the cumulative case count has exceeded 27,000 we have defied alarming predictions of overwhelming infection rates and deaths.”
Dr Da Costa explained that the country’s COVID-19 recovery rate is 85% and the infection rate will continue to reduce if Ghanaians observe the safety protocols.
“With the current ease of restrictions, Ghana’s active case count has seen a sustained decrease trend amidst a few spikes. From around 7,000 active cases in June to 5000 plus cases in early July and currently about 3500 cases. Though this pandemic is caused by a novel virus and is full of uncertainties, the current trend is a good sign of reduced infection rate at a time when some activities are allowed,” he said.
He added that the Ministry of Health and Ghana Health Service and all health care workers in the country have played a major role in the high recovery rates and low mortality rates compared with other countries.
He said that this did not mean Ghanaians can go about without adhering to the safety protocols.
Dr. Dacosta said Ghanaians must not be discouraged by the increasing cumulative cases count “as this number includes a large proportion of recoveries and does not tell the true picture of our current state. The focus should be on the active cases which stand at 3,515 since this represents the current number of positive cases we are managing in our hospitals and isolation centers.”