Coronavirus a year on: How Ghana has fared through a global pandemic

Ghana’s fight against the virus before it entered the country had started with the government already announcing measures. However, it was not until the nation recorded its first two cases that Ghana’s fight became official.

It was on March 12, 2020, a day after the World Health Organisation had officially categorized the virus as a global pandemic, that Ghana recorded its index cases.

The Ministry of Health via a press statement announced that the first two cases of COVID-19 had been recorded in the country.

The two imported cases as they were referred to were detected in foreign nationals who had returned from Norway and Turkey respectively.

The announcement officially kicked off Ghana’s efforts to manage the virus spread with the commencement of the first contact tracing endeavour in the country.

Exactly a year after the first two cases, Ghana has gone on to record a caseload of 86,737 cases and still counting; out of which 675 has resulted in deaths. The current number of active cases stood at 4,782.

Throughout, the nation has been through several moments marked with stories of anxiousness, economic difficulty, and little to no social activities in the quest to manage the virus spread and its equally devastating effects.



Immediate aftermath of first two cases:

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, three days after the index cases, announced in his second address to the nation; what was to become the first phase of the most stringent measures the nation adopted in the fight against the virus.

“All public gatherings, including conferences, workshops, funerals, festivals, political rallies, sporting events and religious activities, such as services in churches and mosques, have been suspended for the next four (4) weeks. Private burials are permitted, but with limited numbers, not exceeding twenty-five (25) in attendance;

“All Universities, Senior High Schools, and basic schools, i.e. public and private schools, will be closed Monday, 16th March 2020, till further notice. The Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the Ministry of Communication, has been tasked to roll out distance learning programmes.

However, BECE and WASSCE candidates will be allowed to attend school to prepare for their examinations, but with prescribed social distancing protocols,” the President stated among other measures at the time when the confirmed cases had risen to only six.

Along with these measures, the government through the Local Government Ministry begun what has since become the regular fumigation and disinfection of markets, public places, and institutions.



Border closure

Having already restricted travelers from some high-risk countries into the country, the government later announced the closure of all of the country's borders for two weeks from midnight of Sunday 22 March 2020.

Eventually, the closure of the nation’s borders was extended by the government until the Kotoka International Airport was reopened on September 1, 2020. However, the land and sea borders continually remain closed.

On 30 March, a partial lockdown of Accra and Kumasi took effect. Members of the Executive, Legislature, and the Judiciary, and some services such as those that were involved in the production, distribution, and marketing of food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, medicine, paper and plastic packages, media, and telecommunications were exempted from the restrictions.

The economic and social impact of the lockdown made it one of the harshest measures the government had to implement since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Accra and Kumasi, the busiest places in the country became ghost towns due to the lockdown and the rush and struggle for necessities such as food and water. The government announced the absorption of water and electricity bills whiles plans were made to feed the poor, needy and the homeless.



Easing of Restrictions

The government with effect from the beginning of June 2020, commenced efforts to ease the restrictions it had imposed in managing the spread of the virus.

The relaxation in restrictions saw the resumption of church services and mosque gatherings under strict preventive measures. Other social gathering such as weddings was also allowed with attendance of not more than 100.

The President announced that from the middle of June 2020, final year students of junior and senior high schools, and universities could resume studies. Final year students in many of the 234 tertiary institutions started returning to their respective campuses on 15 June for a few weeks of classes and final exams.

According to the new Executive Instrument, E.I. 164, signed by the President on 15 June 2020, people who refused to wear face masks in public could face jail terms of between 4–10 years or fines of between GHS12,000 and GHS60,000 or both.

Efforts were also made by the government to bolster the health infrastructure and to boost the management of COVID-19 cases.

Among others, a promise to build in one year, hospitals in districts without District Hospitals as well as in regions without regional hospitals.

Impact of the pandemic in Ghana

The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it socio-economic impact that left many households and organisations greatly affected.

The government is probably the biggest victim of the pandemic in the country because the entry of the virus led to an increase in government expenditure whiles lowering revenue.

Almost all sectors ranging from sports, entertainment, education banking and finance, trade, manufacturing, and agriculture among others recorded adverse effects of the pandemic.

The race to vaccinate

Whiles the world was looking for ways to manage the pandemic, immediate efforts were made to find a vaccine for the novel coronavirus.

On average, vaccine development takes about 10-15 years but the unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic led to equally unprecedented measures that led to the development of some already approved vaccines with several others in various trial phases.

The government of Ghana announced it was expecting its first batch of COVID-19 vaccines in the country by late March 2021.

However, through the COVAX facility, lower-income countries like Ghana have benefited from a free vaccine distribution that has seen Ghana already commence its vaccination programme ahead of schedule.

With an initial consignment of 600,000 AstraZeneca vaccines, Ghana on Tuesday, March 4, 2021, officially commenced its vaccination programme that targets an estimated 20 million persons out of the 30 million plus population.

From a recent update, the Ghana Health Service indicates it has already vaccinated about 300,000 individuals in less than a week of the roll out.



Government’s role in the fight

From drafting and implementing policies to instituting measures and restrictions, the government of Ghana has throughout the fight against the pandemic placed itself as expected at the forefront.

Whiles the government's management of the pandemic in the early stages was lauded by many, a lot of critics have implicated the government in a recent spike in the numbers of infections following the mass gatherings and political rallies that characterized the December 2020 general elections.

However, the government of Ghana has gained plaudits when it comes to its communication in the fight against the pandemic. The president with his regular addresses which he has so far conducted 24 of, has kept citizens updated with efforts as well as provided details on measures taken by the government.

But as to how long the nation's fight against the virus will continue, it is expected that the arrival of vaccines will as much as possible ensure the success of the fight whiles boosting efforts at restoring life t normalcy.

Already the government has outlined plans to realign the economy and the plans are expected to reflect in this year’s budget.