Coronavirus: 50% of deaths occur within 2 days – GHS

More than 50 per cent of the 95 COVID-19 deaths recorded in the country so far have occurred within two days of admission at treatment centres, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has revealed.

According to the Director-General of GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, the late reporting of symptoms to helplines and other channels, contributed to this unfortunate occurrence.

He, has, therefore, urged the public to report symptoms including high temperatures, fever, and dry cough to the helpline for early medical attention and possible recovery.

At the COVID-19 briefing in Accra on Thursday, he said “more than 50 to 60 of all deaths occur within 48 hours of admission. For those who report early, the survival rate is high. So try and report early.”

According to Dr Kuma-Aboagye, patients in critical condition also had high recovery rate, citing an example of an Intensive Care Unit where three out of 36 patients admitted had died.

He said majority of the deaths had been recorded in the Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions, noting that with the improvement of case management, the deaths could be prevented.

On the case count, he disclosed that 460 new cases had been recorded in 34 districts in nine regions of the country pushing the national cumulative figure to 15, 472.

Dr Kuma-Aboagye said active cases were 3,947, recoveries, 11,431 with the condition of 22 patients severe and six in critical condition.

Of the new cases, he said 293 representing 64 per cent were in Greater Accra with the rest in the eight other regions, including Eastern Region, 45; Western Region 44; Ashanti Region 42, Northern Region 18, Bono, 12 and the rest recording less than five cases.

Dr Kuma-Aboagye, revealed that averagely, 210 cases were recorded daily, an indication that the country’s cases were reducing thus advised the public to comply with various protocol to further reduce the spread of the virus.

He called for heightened preventive measures at workplaces since they had become the hotspots for the virus.