It was in March this year that the whole nation went into mourning when the Coronavirus step foot on our shores unannounced and seemed not to be in any hurry to go.
The confusion that blew ahead of this pandemic was the fact that this was its first time in the world, and so to combat it came with difficult questions. No one knew what it ate and what it hates, so pieces of advice were coming out with some suggestions which could only have been used already in combatting other virus diseases.
Safety protocols also came with its means of managing the pandemic, and one which I still do not understand is this. We are not to cough or sneeze into our hands, but into our sleeves at the elbows. Okay, and next? We are not to shake hands with anybody, but rather knock or rub elbows. But this is where I have a problem. The hand which is free from the virus, since you do not cough or sneeze into it, must not be used when exchanging pleasantries with someone, however, the safety protocol is asking us to use our elbows instead. Yes, the elbows where we cough and sneeze into, which could possibly be infected. Anyway, this is science for you.
When President Nana Akufo-Addo gave his first address on the COVID-19 on Wednesday March 11, 2020, there were no confirmed cases of the virus in Ghana. On Sunday March 15, 2020, on his second broadcast on the matter, six cases had been announced in Ghana. While the President announced measures to be taken to manage this new disease, the country was already thrown into opaque clouds of fear and uncertainty.
Then we were ushered into a lockdown which lasted for three weeks, with every day looking dark and gloomy. The President was, however, very determined to do something different for Ghana, as day by day the number of cases started to rise.
In some other nations, especially in the developing world, things were not going on well, as the disease took on a high toll. Here in Ghana, we were relying upon God, who used our national leader, the President, to move this country through the dark and stormy seas, while we looked out for the shore to drop anchor.
Trust Ghanaians, many people came out suggesting that the President was getting it all wrong, and when some few students who were in school got infected, many thought the schools should be closed down and students allowed to go home. The President and the National Covid team thought otherwise and demanded the students stay in school and get treatment there, rather than go home and infect more people. That came out to be the best decision, and in the end, no student died of the COVID-19. Instead of acknowledging his good decision, the President was only spared a few harsh words.
As the days went by, the rise of Covid-19 cases kept swelling, and so were the deaths. If the President had done things this way, that would not have happened. Many came out with advice, but the President would not be moved. He only considered what his Covid-19 team would say, and listening to them and to experts he took hard decisions and stood by them. The fact was the many advice coming from the public and the opposition were mostly in conflict with each other, and so whose decisions should he take?
By June 15, 2020 Ghana had reported 11,964 cases with 7,652 active ones, 54 deaths and 4,258 recoveries. We overtook Algeria to become the fourth most infected country in Africa, behind Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa, which was at the top with alarming figures and statistics.
When the airports were open to international flights and there was a demand of the Covid-19 status report of the passengers from country of departure been a full requirement and another test been required on demand when the passenger arrived, some people, especially a Ghanaian who posed like a pastor based abroad and called Henry Mary Ussher, was all over Facebook with some unprintable words for the President. He could not understand why a Covid-19 status report could not be accepted, and the passenger allowed to go away, instead another test was demanded. As it turned out, some of the passengers who were cleared of Covid-19 at the countries of departure, tested positive when re-tested upon arrival in Ghana.
Four months on, and with good management of the situation, Ghana, today, Sunday October 25, 2020, at 17:00hrs GMT, ranks tenth in Africa with 47,690 total reported cases, 487 active cases (with nine in serious condition), 316 deaths, and 46,887 recoveries.
With a population estimated at 31,273,767 by Worldometer, the Covid-19 statistics in Ghana are as follows. Active cases, 1.02%; Death, 0.66%; Recoveries, 98.72%, and infected population is 0.15%.
Our tenth position was more of a miracle of God and hard work by the President and his Covid-19 team. Among the top ten most affected African nations, South Africa remains glued to the top with 714,246 total infected cases, 50,661 active cases, 18, 944 deaths and 644,641 recoveries. Morocco came in from behind with 194,461 total cases to topple Egypt to third place with 106,379 total cases. Ethiopia, with 106,379 active cases, came from outside the top ten to place fourth, dropping Nigeria to fifth place with 61,930 total infected cases; 3,516 active cases; 1,129 deaths and 57,825 recoveries.
Libya, Kenya and Tunisia, which were recently outside the top ten, now rank sixth, eighth and ninth, respectively, with Algeria, one of the high rankers in the top ten, now settling for seventh position.
The good news is that the death and active cases recorded Ghana is way below the average among the top ten. With the total of 35,673 total deaths recorded in the top ten most affected African nations to date, Ghana has 316 deaths to be the lowest and well below the average of 3,567.3 and making up 0.89% of Africa’s top ten total.
In the case of active cases, a total of 228,168 was recorded as at Sunday October 25, 2020 at 17:00hrs, and Ghana has 487 cases, which is the lowest among the top ten and well below the average of 22,817, and making up 0.21% of Africa’s top ten total.
Looking at things, with the Battle being the Lord’s and with Him on our side, and with a hardworking President who has the welfare of his nation at , it is not surprising that Ghana, and President Nana Akufo-Addo in particular, have been adjudged the third in the whole world to have been able to manage this pandemic called Coronavirus (COVID-19).
We have a President who is, indeed, making Ghana and Africa proud.
Hon Daniel Dugan
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect The Chronicle’s editorial stance
The post Covid-19 and the President who is making Africa proud appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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