Coronavirus: 6,096 Cases, Ghana govt Eyes Madagascar ‘Remedy’ 

–Abdur Rahman Alfa Shaban

Ghana’s case count passed 6,000 mark reaching 6,096 on Tuesday according to tallies released by the Ghana Health Service. The tallies showed that four regions had recorded increases: Greater Accra, Ashanti, Western and Central regions.

Meanwhile Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah says government has reached out to Madagascar to make available its supposed COVID-19 herbal remedy.

He stressed that the product will undergo strict testing by appropriate authorities in Ghana to prove the efficacy or otherwise before it will be administered if at all.

“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 and 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 said on state TV.

The ministry had earlier tweeted the minister as saying: “We have received the Madagascar cure for COVID-19 and we are testing it for efficacy.” The information was later clarified with the exact words of the minister.

Madagascar officially made donations to all 15 countries in the ECOWAS bloc. The donation was done through Guinea-Bissau who are distributing them to neighbouring countries; It is not known if they have as yet delivered Ghana’s consignment.

Total confirmed cases = 6,069

Total recoveries = 1,773

Total deaths = 31

Active cases = 4,292

Figures valid as of May 19, 2020

May 19: govt to explain boom recoveries and address hot spot case management
No new figures were released on Monday but the government through the Information Ministry will release new tallies at a press conference scheduled for later today.

The Ministry is to hold a press briefing at 16:00 GMT to address three main issues: case management in hot spots – Obuasi and Tema, the issue of jumbo recoveries and stigmatization of victims.

The over 1,000 recoveries in two days have attracted questions from an aide to the former president and a fightback by pro-government elements.

A renowned neurosurgeon at the main hospital, Dr. Hadi Abdallah, explained in a Facebook post that it was achieved after a backlog of tests were cleared. According to him, case management by medis needed to be highly applauded.