The Ghana Health Service (GHS) says residents of Obuasi and its surrounding towns in the Ashanti Region are scared of availing themselves for COVID-19 testing because of the fear of being stigmatised and discriminated against by society.
Ashanti Regional Director of the GHS, Dr Emmanuel Tenkorang, who disclosed this at a press briefing here, on Wednesday, said “if this persists, it is going to be very difficult to achieve results.”
He stated that, new infected cases were going down in Obuasi two weeks after the area was reported to be leading in confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Ashanti Region.
Following this, the Central Business District of Obuasi was closed down to enable management to execute a well-planned shift system to control the spread of COVID-19 in the area.
Overall, Obuasi has recorded 587 COVID-19 cases with Obuasi Municipal recording 381 cases and Obuasi East recording 208 cases as of May 20, 2020.
Dr Tenkorang stated that, the total confirmed cases in the region have increased to 886 with a total of seven deaths while 15 people were currently on admission and 75 people in isolation.
According to him, the number of recorded new infections in the region have reduced, as 139 confirmed cases have tested negative after initial repeated tests.
He stated that, although the new infection was going down in the region, there was the need for the public to continue to observe the safety protocols and guidelines in order to prevent more infections.
Dr Tenkorang commended authorities in the region for ensuring that safety protocols were being adhered to and that it has accounted for the reduction of new infected cases of the disease.