Medical personnel of the Police Hospital in Accra have commenced a nationwide exercise to collect samples of police officers for COVID-19 testing.
This comes after the Inspector General of Police, James Oppong Boanuh, directed that the over eight thousand police officers deployed during the partial lockdown period should undergo testing.
The Service subsequently set up an 11-member committee chaired by COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo Danquah to manage the welfare of frontline police officers assisting in the national fight against COVID-19.
A medical practitioner with the Disease Control Unit of the Police Hospital, ASP Emmanuel Baba Asabila, spoke about the mass sample taking and testing exercise.
“We have been sent out as part of our mandate so that we bring care to the police populace. This time around, we are here to test many police personnel as possible as to whether they have come into contact with persons who are positive for COVID-19 or not. We believe that during the lockdown, so many of us might have been infected or otherwise -which we pray is not the case. But in order to find out or not, we are testing all those who because of official duty came into contact with suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19 so that we are able to afford them the care that they require. So we are moving from station to station, district to district, division to division to ensure that we give them the care that they deserve.”
Over 8,000 police officers were directed by the IGP to self-quarantine for their samples to be taken for testing.
This was after they took part in enforcing the restrictions on movement in some parts of the country. Subsequently, there have been reports that a police officer at Adentan in Accra has tested positive for COVID-19 after arresting and detaining some suspects who defied the lockdown directive.
On Saturday, May 9, 2020, the Ghana Health Service also announced that the cases had gone up further by 251 pushing the current total figure to 4,263.
The death count has shot up to 22. The recoveries have also gone up and now at 378.
Regional distribution of COVID-19 cases in Ghana
The Greater Accra Region remains at the top of the case count list with 3,641 cases, followed by the Ashanti Region with 252 and the Eastern Region with 96.
- Greater Accra Region – 3,641
- Ashanti Region – 252
- Eastern Region – 96
- Central Region – 62
- Western North Region – 56
- Western Region – 35
- Volta Region – 32
- Upper East Region – 26
- Oti Region – 24
- Upper West Region – 20
- Northern Region – 16
- North East Region – 2
- Bono Region – 1
- Savannah Region – 0
- Ahafo Region – 0
- Bono East Region – 0
