The World Health Organization updated the ‘Criteria for releasing COVID-19 patients from isolation’ last May. The discharge criterion in summary states that:

• For symptomatic patients: 10 days after symptom onset, plus at least 3 additional days without symptoms (including without fever and without respiratory symptoms)
• For asymptomatic cases: 10 days after positive test for SARS-CoV-2

This new guidelines allows for patients to be discharged after the requisite duration without necessarily undergoing the rigorous testing guideline WHO issued in January 2020. The January guideline placed premium on the test- based strategy for discontinuing transmission-based precautions thus a patient was discharged after obtaining 2 negative PCR tests at least 24 hours apart.

Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Patrick Aboagye who announced Ghana’s revised policy noted that recent data and new clinical management guide by the WHO on the modification of discharge criteria informed Ghana’s decision.

Following the announcement, Ghana’s active COVID-19 case count has dropped to 3596 active cases as at June 22^nd from a high of 8585 active cases on June 19^th.

Meanwhile, Nana Kofo Quakyi, Research Fellow and Adjunct Asst. Prof at New York University has described the GHS decision to lump together data on recoveries and discharges as “misleading.”

“Cases still being managed at home are still active cases because discharge is not the same as recovery. Parroting the intentional conflation of the two concepts abets a misleading narrative about the actual case load in the medical and public health systems. This is not just semantics,” Mr. Quakyi wrote in a blogpost.

He further insisted that the “discharge criteria is not meant to replace the original one laid out by the WHO” and called on the Ghana Health Service to “separate the discharges from the recoveries” on the GHS COVID19 Dashboard.

Virologist Peter Kojo Quarshie also warned that, “some of those discharges will not be cured, but the economic cost of keeping them in the hospital is not justified. It just needs not to be called recovery but discharge.”

Read Also: iWatch Africa holds maiden town hall meeting at 37 Military Lorry Station

The Ghana Health Service has so far failed to address the concerns raised by several health experts. A glance of the local dashboard as at July, 23^rd still shows the conflation of recoveries and discharges.

Report by Gideon Sarpong | iWatch Africa

The post Ghana: Active COVID-19 cases drop sharply after adopting new WHO guidelines as experts express concern appeared first on iWatch Africa.

On June 2^nd 2020, contact tracers in the region decided to embark on a strike action over slashed allowances, which authorities have failed to address.

A spokesperson for the contact tracers, Ibrahim Dauda explained that the group would remain on strike until their “grievances are addressed with regards to the amount we are supposed to receive for work.”

This strike comes weeks after the President had indicated that the government had set aside an insurance package to cushion health officials at the forefront of Ghana’s fight against the novel Coronavirus disease in the country.

The number of recorded cases in the Ashanti Region on the eve of the strike stood at 1247 cases. Two weeks after the strike action, June 15^th, the cases have shot up to 2205 representing an increase of 958 cases in the region alone.

The Ashanti Region has consistently maintained its position as the region with the second-highest number of cases in the Ghana but the sharp increase in the number of counted cases should be a concern to health officials.

Meanwhile, the Ashanti Regional Health Directorate did not respond to a request for comment for this report and has not officially addressed the strike action by the contact tracers.

Read Also: Police shoot 15-year old for flouting COVID-19 restrictions

The President in an address to the nation last night also failed to directly address the strike action although he directed the mandatory wearing of nose masks in the country as cases continue to surge.

According to the Ministry of Health, Ghana’s confirmed coronavirus cases cumulatively, stood at 11,964 as at 15th June with 4,258 fully recovered patients. The total number of active cases currently stands at 7,652 with 54 recorded deaths.

Report by Gideon Sarpong | iWatch Africa

The post Ghana: Over 70% spike in COVID-19 cases in Ashanti Region since contact tracers declared strike appeared first on iWatch Africa.

Speaking last Tuesday during a press briefing in Accra, the Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said: “We are considering it [the herbal cure]. We have reached out to them [Madagascar]. We have asked that it [should] be made available to us.”

The minister however admitted that the Madagascar COVID-Organics would have to undergo further tests by regulatory bodies before the drug could be administered in the country.

“Like all drugs, it will be tested by FDA and in this case by the Center for Plant Medicine and if proven efficacious, we can recommend its use,” he stated.

Madagascar’s president, Andry Rajoelina, last week defended the unproven Covid-Organics drink, which is reportedly made from Artemisia annua (sweet wormwood) and herbs, telling France 24 it was a “preventive and curative remedy” and “works really well”.

However, when Dr. Zabulon Yoti, WHO Africa Regional Emergencies Director (Acting) was asked during a press briefing organized by the Reuters Foundation last week whether WHO had any data or evidence of its efficacy, he said: “No, at the moment we have no cure for COVID-19.”

He further cautioned against use of drugs which have not undergone clinical trials.

“So currently the herbal treatments out there have not undergone clinical trials. What we are offering as WHO is to work with these countries to do proper clinical trials and also to monitor the effects of those who have taken these medicines, so we can see if these are really potent medicines,” he said. (vipcleaners.com)

Meanwhile, a Member of Parliament in Ghana, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has condemned the prejudice the Madagascar Coronavirus “cure” has suffered.

In a tweet, he said: “The prejudice against anything from Africa must be boldly confronted.”

The lawmaker further commended the Africa Union for reaching out to the Madagascan President on the herbal medicine.

Read Also: Fixing the Future: What must the world do now and post COVID-19?

“I highly commend the African Union for reaching out to the Madagascan President, Andry Rajoelina on the wonder coronavirus herbal medicine: COVID-Organics.”

WHO has however paid for advertisements to appear alongside Google searches for Artemisia annua. The advertisements lead to a WHO page that says such medicinal plants should be tested for efficacy and negative side effects.

“Africans deserve to use medicines tested to the same standards as people in the rest of the world,” the statement says.

It remains unclear when the Food and Drugs Authority in Ghana will complete its assessment of the Madagascar Covid-Organics and make the results available to the general public.

By Gideon Sarpong | iWatch Africa

The post Ghana requests for Madagascar’s COVID-Organics despite caution from WHO appeared first on iWatch Africa.

The future, it seems, to a considerable extent, is damaged by the virus. Already, before COVID-19, the world was suffering grave predicaments, including growing inequality between the rich and the poor as well as high youth unemployment (in particular low-skilled individuals). The high unemployment among low-end workers is explained partly by the advancement in robotics, InfoTech and biotech in the delivery of work. At the same time, many economies were suffering from slower growth, increased public debt, dwindling domestic revenue mobilisation, and illegal migration management, among others. As a result, many economies were close to recession.

Moreover, the social fibre of the world is also witnessing marked changes. Social norms, including what constitutes “truth” is now fiercely challenged. In the political space, populism and nationalism dogmas appear to have taken hold of the political establishments across the globe. COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the already frail predicament of the world.

The world, for many years, has witnessed different kinds of plagues. In the 1340s, the black disease (believed to have started from central Asia) consumed about 75 million lives worldwide. It was not until 1771 that an antidote was found to the disease. Between 1918 and 1919, the world again witnessed another deadly plague called Spanish Flu. This disease ravaged havoc around the globe, killing circa 100 million people. AIDS is another plague that has killed over 25 million people since 1981. The others include malaria, which kills over 2 million people every year worldwide and several thousand also die every year from chorale outbreaks. Other epidemics such as SAS, H1N1, MERS and Ebola have also slain many people around the world. Certainly, plagues have been one of humanity’s worst enemies because of the devastations they bring.

The corollary of these plagues is that not only do they devour human lives, but also the global economy always takes a hit. Healthcare infrastructure gets stretched, and sometimes pockets of social unrests are recorded. Businesses see profit plummet, individuals lose jobs, and many are left unable to fend for themselves and their families. Governments lose revenues and often are unable to provide the social support required during such critical times effectively. Fiscal rectitude gets jettisoned, especially when the disruptions are not ephemeral. Under such situation, countries are likely to accumulate more debt which elevates budgetary imbalance. Such imbalance often takes years to redress. Plagues, therefore, have from time immemorial not been good for the global economy.

The COVID-19 is undoubtedly impacting the global economy negatively. Growth is forecasted to significantly plunge in many countries as various lockdown measures are implemented. Unemployment is predicted to soar to levels comparable to the cold war era. Many businesses across the multiple sectors including; tourism and hospitality, transportation, manufacturing, education, among others have all collapsed or are on the verge of collapse. Already, many across the world are accessing state-sponsored stimulus for their businesses or consumption. Many are also being fed through food bank programmes.

Nonetheless, some positive norms have also emerged out of the pandemic. The key one is the improvement in hygiene standards as more people wash their hands and sanitise regularly. This, in addition to “no handshakes” and people removing their outdoor footwear before entering their homes, is expected to reduce transmission of infection among people. Another vital norm gaining prominence is the use of technology infrastructure for the delivery of education and work. As many are working from home, virtual communication infrastructure has become the surest way of getting things done. Concerning the delivery of education, information technology infrastructure has been quite helpful. These new normal habits many expect will continue even when the pandemic is over and done with.

Despite these identified positives, the virus on a balanced-scale is having a more negative impact on all people. It, therefore, has become obvious that COVID-19 potentially could damage the future of humanity. If this assertion is to hold, is there anything humanity could do to salvage the future? Yes! There are many things the world can do to get the virus to pass by with minimal effect. Below, I discuss some of the things humanity can do to ensure the future is not further damaged and to an extent, even reverse some of the direr COVID-19 consequences.

Education – To fix the future requires that we correct the present education system since it’s the sure way to an unknown future. Despite the relevance of education in determining the future we desire, no one can be certain of the type of training that will be relevant to the future. This assertion is so true because human’s prediction of the future has been often imprecise. So, it’s evident that we have a problem in determining the relevant education system for the future. Improving on our prediction of the future is crucial since what we learn today must be based on our prediction of what the future will be like. As the capacity of technology keeps expanding, it becomes imperative that the present system where schools cram information into students’ brain is revised. Some few decades ago, the cramming system was perfect because information was scarce. To make education responsive to modern problems requires a complete overhaul of the present system. Our schools must begin to emphasis the 4Cs – critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. We must leverage technology to aid in the delivery of education in line with the education 4.0 concept which encourages cyber-physical interactions. This will require investments in technology infrastructure and also making them accessible to every school-going child regardless of geography. These investments must be made since humankind will continue to deal with plague nobody has ever encountered going into the future. With the advent of supercomputers, artificial intelligence and advancements in biochemical technologies, for humans to be relevant would require that education does not only afford us stability but also afford us the ability to learn and reinvent knowledge continually. The new education system must enable people to be able to harness the community of knowledge to address societal problems.

Prioritising healthcare infrastructure – If there is one thing that COVID-19 has exposed, it is the weakness in global health infrastructure and systems. COVID-19 has created an unprecedented disruption to global health systems in modern history. The World Health Organisation’s recent acknowledgement of significant gaps in global health investments has elevated health and welfare concerns around the world. As such, the need for adequate investments in equipment and staff training is most pressing if the world is to have a health system resilient enough to meet this pandemic and future pandemics. It is also critical that much attention is devoted to building robust cooperation, especially in the areas of information sharing among the various national, sub-national, regional and global health systems. Such fruitful cooperation ultimately will become the foundation for the much needed global health security.

Enhance connectedness and built consensus on global commons – Another area that is critical to fixing the future would be the extent to which the world cooperate in addressing the three most dreadful challenges of the world – destructive technological advances, persistent Nukes threat and the ecological destruction by anthropological considerations. Cooperation in other equally important matters such as science and research, fighting various forms of crimes- financial, cyber, drugs and human trafficking – just to mention, but a few would be a critical enabler for the beautiful future we all envisage. The adverse impacts of these global concerns are not geography-specific and could affect anybody in any part of the world. Need I mention though that the magnitude may vary from one place to the other. Human connectedness has reached levels that it will take a lot to reverse. In such complex connectedness, cooperation among nations is the sure way all countries can benefit. Institutions established to advance the global agenda must continue to reinvent themselves while engaging new actors. To fix the future depends on us fixing what is broken within the current global governance architecture. It will require us all to repurpose international coordination on global problems from the perspective of national to global solidarity.

The new normal – One element of the future is about cultural changes that are to come. Some of the prescribed protocols to control the COVID-19 have a direct impact on the culture of many people. For example, among many Africans, shaking hands is seen as an expression of affection, respect and connection with each other. This practice is now strongly discouraged as it is one of the amplified ways for the spread of the virus. People are now frequently washing hands under running water and sanitising hands when necessary. Social gatherings have been constrained to a limited number of people with strict adherence to social distancing. These are new normals. It is imperative to note that to fix the future, these “new normals” must be taken into account as a new fixture of life.

Read Also:Fact-Check: Claim that smoking tobacco is helpful against coronavirus is ‘unproven’ and misleading

To conclude, it has become apparent that the future requires fixing if humanity is to avoid the lacklustre way COVID-19 pandemic has been dealt with. The weak coordination among nations, the poor state of global health systems due to years of neglect, and inadequate education on the COVID-19 pandemic need not repeat in the future. The world needs to make the right investments and interventions required to sufficiently position it to deal with future pandemics. This will require all of us to build strong global solidarity against future plagues and through that protect humanity.

Article by

Henry, KYEREMEH- Co-Founder: iWatch Africa, (kyeremeh@gmail.com)

The post Fixing the Future: What must the world do now and post COVID-19? appeared first on iWatch Africa.

In an article first published on PeaceFMOnline dated 9^th May, 2020, Kwesi Pratt stated that, “When the disease [COVID-19] started, we were told that if you smoke, the likelihood to contract the disease is very strong and your recovery is not as good as the non-smokers and so on…Just last week, according to a French scientist’s research, they have discovered that nicotine is good against COVID-19 meaning smoking tawa (tobacco) is helpful…”

A statement released by the WHO on 11^th May, has however debunked the conclusions made by the veteran journalist, who has also previously admitted to being a chain smoker.

“There is currently insufficient information to confirm any link between tobacco or nicotine in the prevention or treatment of COVID-19,” the WHO statement read.

Contrary to the claims made by Kwesi Pratt and distortions of the French study, the statement also noted that, “a review of studies by public health experts convened by WHO on 29 April 2020 found that smokers are more likely to develop severe disease with COVID-19, compared to non-smokers.”

French researchers led by Jean-Pierre Changeux, a neurobiologist at the Institut Pasteur, hypothesized that nicotine patches may help prevent infections with the dangerous virus. The study, which is in its early stages and unproven looked at around 500 COVID-19 patients, of whom 350 had been treated in hospital and 150 had a mild disease progression. Only 5% were smokers, Zahir Amoura, co-author of the study, told the news agency AFP. They published a corresponding theory on the science portal Qeios.

WHO has however cautioned the media and researchers against “amplifying unproven claims” as it continues to evaluate new research.

“WHO is constantly evaluating new research, including research that examines the link between tobacco use, nicotine use, and COVID-19. WHO urges researchers, scientists and the media to be cautious about amplifying unproven claims that tobacco or nicotine could reduce the risk of COVID-19.”

The French researchers are currently awaiting approval from health authorities in France to carry out clinical trials.

With further research needed, France’s top health official, Jerome Saloman is discouraging people from picking up smoking or using nicotine patches as a protective measure against the virus.

“We must not forget the harmful effects of nicotine,” he stated.  The caution expressed by France’s top health official is in sync with the statement from WHO which also cautioned that, “tobacco smoking is a known risk factor for many respiratory infections and increases the severity of respiratory diseases.”

“Tobacco kills more than 8 million people globally every year. More than 7 million of these deaths are from direct tobacco use and around 1.2 million are due to non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke,” WHO warned. (https://zonaroofingaz.com/)

Report by Gideon Sarpong | iWatch Africa

The post Fact-Check: Claim that smoking tobacco is helpful against coronavirus is ‘unproven’ and misleading appeared first on iWatch Africa.

On April 19, Ghana became the first country in the Sub-Saharan region to lift its partial lockdown. The confirmed COVID-19 cases as at then stood at 1047, with number of deaths at 9.

Two weeks following the lift in the lockdown, the Ghana Health Service has announced that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases stood at 2,719, 294 recoveries and 18 deaths representing over 100 percent increase in deaths and confirmed cases.

Former Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa has expressed his “disappointment” over President Nana Akufo-Addo’s decision to lift the lockdown imposed on some parts of the country.

According to him, the upsurge in COVID-19 cases in the country defeat the government’s decision to lift the lockdown.

He said, “looking at the science of this whole distribution of COVID-19, one will realize that it has moved from the center, Accra, towards the periphery…Even with our cases, there was still a lot of backlog in testing which we felt was not good enough [to warrant the lifting of the lockdown].”

Meanwhile, Dr. Zabulon Yoti, the Regional Emergencies Director (Acting), World Health Organisation in a press briefing organized by the Thomson Reuters Foundation has advised governments to “institute targeted lockdowns” to prevent spike in cases as many countries in the Sub-Saharan region relax lockdown restrictions.

“If governments institute targeted lockdowns, we would not see these spikes after lockdowns are lifted. Also, there must be flexibility in the way we respond to these pandemics. There is a fear of spikes if the lockdowns are lifted without adequate measures in place,” Dr. Yoti told a group of journalists during the briefing.

As part of the government’s effort to contain the surge in COVID-19 cases in Ghana, Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah at a press briefing on Tuesday in Accra insisted that public buildings and offices must have a “no mask no entry” policy.

The ‘no mask no entry’ operation is in line with enforcement of COVID-19 directives issued by the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council and Ministry of Health, he stated.

Meanwhile, Senior Research Fellow at Ghana’s leading biomedical research, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), Dr. Kofi Bonney has argued that,  “It will be difficult to limit the spread of the virus because of the disregard for Government’s directives aimed at achieving the aforementioned purpose.”

“The blatant disregard by Ghanaians with regard to the social distancing and regular washing of hands directive will cause problems,” he added

Ghana remains West Africa’s second most impacted behind Nigeria who have 2,800 plus cases at May 4th.

Report by Gideon Sarpong | iWatch Africa | Follow @gideonsarpong

The post Ghana: Gov’t under pressure as confirmed COVID-19 cases surge following lift in lockdown appeared first on iWatch Africa.