Coronavirus: 18,000 test results still pending

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has observed that the results of a backlog of some 18,000 tests are still pending.

He explained, since the first two cases of infections were recorded in Ghana, "we have, till date, traced some 86,000 contacts, out of which we have test results of 68,591 contacts."

He added, "the overwhelming majority of these contacts have been established in the last three weeks of the partial lockdown in Accra and Kumasi."

Akufo-Addo his live televised address to the nation on Sunday [AApril 19,2020] noted, "Out of this number, 1,042 persons, i.e. 1.5%, have been confirmed as positive, with 67,549, i.e. 98.5%, testing negative; 99 persons have recovered and have been discharged; and 930 persons, who have been isolated, are responding to treatment either in their homes or in treatment facilities."

He said the 930 persons, after their treatment, will again undergo the mandatory two tests to determine if they have also recovered from the virus or otherwise.

The president indicated that, the main reason our country has seen an increase in the number of confirmed cases over the last three-weeks is because of the aggressive decision government took to trace and test contacts of infected persons.

"This has enabled us to identify and isolate infected persons, protect the population from further infections, and contain better the spread of the virus. Indeed, Ghana is the only other country in Africa to have conducted more than sixty thousand tests, and we are ranked number one in Africa in administering tests per million people," he stressed.

Watch the President's full address below.