Probe into COVID-19 infections among health workers ongoing – GHS boss

The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, says a team of experts has been constituted to assess the circumstances under which more frontline health workers are being infected by COVID-19.

He says the finding of the team will enable the Ghana Health Service to find a lasting solution to the problem.

The Ghana Medical Association GMA, in a press statement, indicated that over a hundred and fifty doctors and dentists have tested positive for COVID-19 since the outbreak of the virus in Ghana.

Speaking on Citi TV’s current affairs programme, The Point of View, Dr. Kuma-Aboagye described the trend as worrying.

“We are also currently looking at, most importantly, what circumstance are leading to the increased number of doctors and health workers that are getting infected.”

“We have commissioned a group that is doing the assessment of not just the numbers but also the circumstances; is it community-based? Is it from colleagues? So we are trying to take a more holistic approach.”

The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye says doctors and managers of the country’s health systems should not be blamed for the rising cases of COVID-19 in the country.

He said citizens must be responsible for their own health and must strictly adhere to all COVID-19 preventive protocols.

He also said the rising number of cases within the general public as well as health workers is worrying, however, citizens must take responsibility for their own health.

His comments come on the back of general concerns with the health sector and amongst members of the general public over the increasing number of COVID-19 infection amongst health workers.

The Ghana Medical Association over the weekend revealed that more than 150 medical doctors and dentists have so far tested positive for COVID-19 since the outbreak of the disease in Ghana in March 2020.

Several nurses across the country have also been infected.

The Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital has had to cease attending to urgent cases because a large number of its staff at the surgical areas had tested positive for COVID-19.

Given these developments and the recent high numbers of confirmed daily COVID-19 cases, some have called on the government to ensure the risky activities such as the ongoing voter registration exercise be halted, but according to Dr. Kuma-Aboagye that will not inure to the country’s benefit.

He said while an imposition of a full lockdown will largely help to stop the spread of COVID-19, that is not feasible hence the need for Ghanaians to protect themselves and psych themselves to live with the virus.