Ayawaso West is not a coronavirus hotspot in real terms – DG GHS

Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has clarified reports on how Ayawaso West Municipality was leading with the number of active coronavirus cases in the country.

He spoke at a Ministry of Information press briefing today, describing the figures in the area as artificial and a result of the concentration of laboratories there.

“Ayawaso West, I will say the number is more of an artificial number when we subsequently disaggregate it. It is so because Noguchi (memorial institute) and Nyaho (medical center) are located there. There are also a number of private health facilities in that area.

“So they tend to record a lot of cases, but after you have received the results (and) you look at the location and redistribute them. So Ayawaso West is not a hotspot. It is just because labs are there, Noguchi, Nyaho and some private labs are there…,” he further clarified.

During the January 25 coronavirus briefing at the ministry, Dzorwulu, a suburb of Accra located in the Ayawaso West Municipality was identified as leading the coronavirus chart with the highest number of active cases in the country.

Stats presented at the time by the GHS noted that the area had 574 active cases. Osu and Teshie in Accra occupied the second and third spots with 251 and 203 active cases respectively.