Coronavirus: Recent figures mean Ghana may be entering third wave – Prof Sagoe

Professor Kwamena Sagoe of the University of Ghana Medical School has revealed that the latest coronavirus figures in Ghana could be a sign that the country is entering into its third wave.

Ghana has recorded 812 covid-19-related deaths, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) announced on Sunday July 18.

The active cases is 2,858 with 95,147 recoveries.

Asked whether this could mean the oil-producing West African nation is entering into the third wave, Professor Sagoe told TV3’s Komla Adom on the News 360 on Sunday July 18 that “Well, anything is possible.

“Definitely, the cases are going up and normally, when the cases are up, you should remember that it is not a simple summative thing, it is exponential.

“Two people will give to eight people, eight people will give to thirty, so yes, it could be the beginning of the third wave, it could also mean something else. We just have to see how things will pan out by yes.”

He further stated that there are still people in Ghana who doubt the reality of the virus.

“People still don’t believe in Covid and that is the problem,” he said.

He added “Now, the new phrase you hear is ‘I have been vaccinated twice’ and so generally, there is complacency, people believe it won’t happen to them, others are also oblivious of what is happening around them.

“Others believe they have the vaccines so they can live their normal life.”

When asked whether a second lockdown will help deal with the situation, he said “We have all seen that lockdowns may not work per se. we all saw what happened in Ghana when we were locked down again you can see that people are trying to combine economic issue with and trying to control the disease.

“We have to find innovative ways of doing things. For example if you are having a funeral don’t let people sit. We have to be innovative if we want to balance the two of them.

“I can tell you for sure that people are presenting with Covid like malaria. They have no cough, they have no clinical symptoms of respiratory disease but yet they are covid positive. They come with general body weakness.

“I think that we should put in some restrictions. That can still allow for movement so that we don’t get to the situation where now we are running for hospital beds.”