Ayawaso West identified as COVID-19 hotspot, compulsory testing begins on April 1

A compulsory house to house Coronavirus tracing and testing exercise is set to be carried out in the Ayawaso West Municipality in the Greater Accra Region from Wednesday, April 1, 2020.

The announcement made by the Municipal Health Directorate follows the identification of the Municipality as a hotspot for the virus.

The exercise will be conducted for 10 days to tackle the spread of COVID-19 among residents.

“A directive from the National Level has been given to conduct a COVID-19 contact tracing of all persons who have come into contact with COVID-19 positive patients…and conduct compulsory house to house testing of every individual residing in Ayawaso West Municipal Municipality”, the statement from health authorities indicated.

Over a hundred health and security officers from the police, immigration and national security are expected to be deployed for the exercise in the municipality.

The Ayawaso West Municipal Municipality includes areas such as Legon, Dzorwulu, East Legon, West Legon, Okponglo, Abelenkpe, Roman Ridge, Airport Residential and surrounding communities.

It also houses the University of Ghana where a student tested positive for COVID-19 before the closure of the institution.

The case involved a non-resident student who returned from an international trip.

However, some 94 students and staff of the University of Ghana who came into contact with the student have all tested negative after a 14-day isolation period.

Don’t panic but cooperate 

Meanwhile, authorities have asked residents within the Municipality not to “panic but cooperate with the team of health personnel and the security agencies to ensure the success of the exercise.”

Already, Health Minister, Kwaku Agyemang Manu has announced Accra  and Tema in the Greater Accra Region as well as Kumasi in the Ashanti Region as the hotspots of COVID-19 in Ghana

This is due to the high number of cases there, forcing President Akufo-Addo to declare a lockdown of those areas to tackle the spread of the virus.

As of Tuesday March 31, 2020, Ghana has recorded 161 novel coronavirus cases, according to the Ghana Health Service.

There are also three recoveries and five deaths from the virus.

All five persons who died “had underlying chronic medical conditions prior to COVID-19 infection.

The number of home care cases stands at 49.