Coronavirus in Ghana: Pandora's box is open

April 12, 2020 was exactly one month since Ghana reported its first confirmed cases of Covid-19. From 2 cases to 566 in 30 days! 4 persons have recovered and 8 died.

Based on World Health Organization data and using day-30 counts, Ghana is ahead of all countries in the world except Italy and China. This is worth repeating: compared to all countries reporting confirmed cases of Coronavirus in the first 30 days, Ghana is ahead of all countries except Italy and China.

This means by day 30, Ghana is ahead of all African, European, North American, South American, and Asian countries, and Australia except Italy and China.

Looking at the Confirmed Incidents chart (green), Ghana has experienced 5 spikes in reported cases. The latest one is 158 cases. The data suggests that Covid-19 cases have not peaked yet. Therefore, we cannot contemplate flattening the curve. This also means that Ghana is not ahead of the infection curve. In fact, the data suggests that government responses and actions to stop the spread of Covid-19 is ineffective and not working.

Even more worrying is that 66.6% of the confirmed cases are from people with no history of travel outside the country. This means community transmissions have outstripped imported infections. It also means that the lockdown has not been effective in stopping the spread of Covid-19. There is abundant evidence to show that social distancing protocols are not being observed.

We have records of viral videos showing people not observing social distancing protocols and fighting to get the free food being distributed, and having a great time at the beach.

Closer to home and of major concern to me, is unconfirmed reports of 31 cases with 10 in critical condition in the Ayawaso North Constituency. The constituency is home to Maamobi and Nima, the largest Zongo community in Ghana. It is also home to a multi-ethnic mixture of people from all parts of Ghana and the West African sub-region. It is famous for its thriving Nima Market on Wednesdays.



We call on the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government, specifically, the Ministry for Inner-city and Zongo Development to address the issue of community transmissions immediately. With the high level of congestion in the Zongo and other underprivileged communities, social distancing is a luxury the people cannot afford.



10 out of 16 regions have reported confirmed cases of Covid-19. The Volta Region and Western Region have joined the infamous club. The Greater Accra Region leads the pack, followed by the Ashanti Region and Eastern Region.

The bar graph shows the regional distribution. Kumasi was put on lockdown when it had 18 reported cases. With 28 reported cases, why is the Eastern Region not on lockdown? Is the government's response driven by science?



We continue to call on government to be transparent and accountable in the reporting of Covid-19 cases. Daily briefings and updates are the standard best practices that the government must follow in addition to doing more testing.

Inexplicably, ordinary people have been left out of the discussions of distributing financial aid. We advocate that care for the ordinary people and for enhancing their human security must be on the table. The distribution of financial aid to SMEs, food items and food packages to the people must be done equitably without regard to political party affiliation. The people's dignity must be respected.



The Nana Akufo-Addo/NPP government must account to the people for the use of the resources, loans, private donations in cash and in kind it has received. Government must also be open and transparent to inform Ghanaians about its plans to curb the spread of Covid-19 beyond the lockdown.



Government's responses and actions must be driven by science, not politics.

Alhaji Haruna Rashid Ibrahim
Director of Research
National Democratic Congress
East Legon, Accra
April 12, 2020