The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary Candidate for the Wa West Constituency, Supt (Rtd) Peter Lanchene Toobu is asking for what he calls, a customized total lockdown (CTL) of all African countries amidst the spread of the novel coronavirus across the globe.
According to him, “the underlying assumption of CTL is for all African Countries to plan with the worst-case scenario of 0.4% of the population as a guide. For instance, Ghana (population of 30 million) with an assumption of 0.4% will have to plan with a total figure of 120,000 people in mind.”
Though acknowledging the efforts being put in place by most African governments, he suggested that “African countries with their existing economic challenges should consider locking down the virus and not the countries. This is referred to as CTL.”
In a statement, Supt Toobu listed some steps that Africa should follow to put the customized total lockdown into action.
Among other things, he said African countries must “use the Armed Forces, the Police and Disaster Management Organisations to create Isolation Camps with inspirational names, test all OPD cases for COVID-19, engage in aggressive contact tracing and testing” and direct relief packages to the Isolation Camps.
Calls for nationwide lockdown in Ghana
Amidst an ongoing partial lockdown in some parts of Ghana, there are calls to extend the restriction of movement directive to all regions in the country.
Among the many is the Bureau of Public Safety, asking the government to impose a 21-day lockdown on all sixteen regions.
According to them, “If the President and the Response Team do not take further bold and radical steps, all the good efforts applied will come to nought and eventually our country will be consumed by this ravaging novel virus.”
They are also asking that the government must “gear up tracing and testing capacity and effort, apply more efforts at education and effective monitoring of traced contacts and suspected cases to minimize frequent escapes from isolation centres and enhance compliance to medical advice and expand testing sites across all 16 regions within the shortest possible time.”
Ghana’s current case count
The confirmed cases of the novel Coronavirus in Ghana currently stand at 408 with the death toll at eight.
“As of 10 April 2020, 23:00 HRS, a total of 27,346 persons have been tested with 408 being positive for COVID-19,” said the Ghana Health Service.
Out of the 408 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 205 were reported from the routine surveillance, 88 from enhanced surveillance activities and 115 from travellers under mandatory quarantine in both Accra and Tamale.
The breakdown of the 408 positive cases are as follows: four (4) have been treated, discharged and have tested negative, 394 cases have been categorised as mild disease on treatment, two (2) moderate to severe cases, none currently on ventilators and eight (8) have died.
