President Akufo-Addo has announced that Ghana no longer has any critical or severe covid-19 cases.
He made these known while addressing the nation on Sunday.
"As at 15th May, 2023, there have been one thousand, four hundred and sixty-two (1,462) deaths attributable to Covid-19 in Ghana, with the last death being recorded on 8th January, 2023."
"These are not mere figures, or inconvenient statistics, they are dearly loved parents, sons and daughters, relations, friends and colleagues whom we shall continue to miss dearly"
"May their souls rest in perfect peace. I am glad to report that, currently, we do not have any critical or severe cases"
"They tell us also that there is evidence of reducing risks to human health from COVID-19 infections. This has led to the decreasing trend of COVID-19 related deaths, hospitalizations and intensive care admissions"
He also noted that the world has also achieved the long hoped-for immunity, and with improved clinical management.
"In other words, we can now breathe that collective sigh of relief. For, even though we may still have to deal with sporadic, isolated outbreaks, the crisis itself has technically ended"
"The pandemic trend in Ghana is similar to the general global trend as announced by WHO"
"In general, since the first case was confirmed in our country on March 12, 2020, there have been one hundred and seventy-one thousand, seven hundred and fifty-eight (171,758) positive cases from two million, five hundred and thirty-eight thousand, one hundred and ninety-eight (2,538,198) tests"
"You would recall that we started the Covid vaccination campaign in March 2021 and, as at 25th May 2023, twenty-five million, one hundred and seventy thousand, three hundred and eighty-two (25,170,382) vaccine doses have been administered"
He stressed that there are ten million, five hundred and thirty-six thousand four hundred and twenty (10,536,420) fully vaccinated people, that is, 52.7% out of the twenty million (20 million) people target Ghana had set, with four million, five hundred and ninety-nine thousand, eight hundred and eighty three (4,599,883) persons having received booster doses.
"In the light of these facts, the COVID-19 Taskforce, which I chair, met on 17th May and took some far-reaching decisions on the measures we have put in place for the management of the pandemic, which were announced by the Ghana Health Service on 19th May"
"The most important of these decisions was that the COVID-19 pandemic was over in Ghana"
Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith