Coronavirus: 17 people with COVID-19 in Ghana recover

Seventeen (17) people who contracted the COVID-19 in Ghana have fully recovered and discharged, Dr. Patrick Aboagye, Director-General of the Ghana Health Service has revealed.

According to him, the 17 people after weeks of treatment have tested negative twice, a benchmark that is used to declare an infected person fully recovered after contracting the deadly disease.

He also stated that 66 people of the people who were infected with the killer bug have tested negative once and are awaiting their final test for them to be declared fit for discharge.

He revealed that currently, only two people of the 566 people infected with the disease are in critical condition.

Ghana has 566 cases of the disease with eight deaths. So far over 110, 000 people have been killed by the disease globally and with almost 2million people infected.

Meanwhile, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved the disbursement of US$1 billion to be drawn under the Rapid Credit Facility to help Ghana’s COVID-19 fight.

According to the IMF, the COVID-19 pandemic is already impacting Ghana severely. Growth is slowing down, financial conditions have tightened, and the exchange rate is under pressure.

A statement by the IMF added that the authorities have timely and proactively responded to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana and support affected households and firms.

“The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today approved the disbursement of SDR 738 million (about US$1 billion) to be drawn under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF). The disbursement will help address the urgent fiscal and balance of payments needs that Ghana is facing, improve confidence, and catalyze support from other development partners.2

“The IMF continues to monitor Ghana’s situation closely and stands ready to provide policy advice and further support as needed…the uncertain dynamics of the pandemic creates significant risks to the macroeconomic outlook. Ghana continues to be classified at high risk of debt distress. The authorities remain committed to policies consistent with strong growth, rapid poverty reduction, and macroeconomic stability over the medium-term.

“Additional support from other development partners will be required and critical to close the remaining external financing gap and ease budget constraints.”