There is a severe warning from the country’s National Case Management Coordinator for Severe and Critical covid-19 cases, Dr Christian Owoo, that Ghana’s critical cases are rising at an alarming rate.
Speaking to Nortey Duah on Joy News’ Ultimate Health Sunday, he noted that the system will get overwhelmed at the current trajectory, and things will worsen.
There have been reports that Ghana’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds are getting full, although the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Patrick Kumah-Aboagye, has doubted such reports.
Dr Christian Owoo told show host Nortey Dua that the system may soon be overwhelmed.
“I can tell you about two weeks ago, the few numbers we had almost by last week started doubling in a matter of days. But we know the trajectory that we are on; it’s not sustainable if it continues on that trajectory, it does not matter how much we try to sugarcoat things because eventually, the system will be overwhelmed not only with respect to human resources but even material resources”, he noted.
Dr Christian Owoo was quick to add, however, that although the numbers at the ICU are doubling, it doesn’t necessarily mean there’s no capacity to take care of such patients.
This is a position that has been affirmed by Virologist and the Kumasi Center for Collaborative Research Dr Michael Owusu, who warns that if urgent actions are not taken by government and the ordinary people to enforce adherence to the protocols, more cases and deaths will be recorded.
Dr Michael Owusu said, “once we know that we have a new strain in the system, then as this viruses do, it is expected to go through a third wave which is expected a third wave which will hit the very highest peak before it comes down and it looks as if this is what has started and there’s no doubt we are in a full-blown third wave.”
He continued that “If action is not taken birth from the people involved, from human behaviour and also from the government, we should expect a rapid increase in cases, both active cases, new cases and possible deaths if we don’t do anything about this.”
There have been concerns that adherence to the Covid-19 Preventive protocols instituted by the government to curb or limit the spread of the virus has been completely abandoned, with mask-wearing reducing and events that potentially spread the virus being held in full swing across the country.