Gov’t fights Covid-19 Delta variant at Achimota School

The Director General of Ghana Health Service (GHS), Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, says government will, henceforth, control arrivals from countries that have recorded the Delta variant of COVID-19 at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).

This forms part of measures to contain the further spread of the variant in the country.

He also announced that following the detection of the Delta variant at Achimota school, the government will intensify the COVID-19 measures to include health education on various preventive etiquette, daily cases review, enforcement of infection prevention and control protocols on campus. It will also include disinfection of schools and strategic testing of all day students to identify and contain community spread.

Achimota case

Disclosing this at a press conference yesterday, Dr Kuma-Aboagye said three students of Achimota School presented influenza-like symptoms at the school’s sickbay between June 14 and 16.

After they were tested in line with laid down protocols, all three results turned out positive. They were isolated, and all contacts placed under mandatory quarantine on campus.

Subsequently, other symptomatic students and contacts were identified, listed, and also tested for COVID-19. Majority of the students who tested positive are, however, day students.

“We had a significant number of the initial testing we did at Achimota School as Delta variant. So once we have that, we assume that because it is the source that was spread around, the majority of the variant there will be the Delta variant. That is why we are doing the strategic testing of day students so that it doesn’t get into the community,” he said.

Breakdown of new variant

Dr Kuma-Aboagye added that as at last Saturday, about 843 students and staff of the Achimota SHS had been sampled, i.e. some 348 boarding students, 459 day students and 36 teaching and non-teaching staff were tested.

He told the media that results available for 550 samples indicate that about 130 tested positive while some 293 results that were collected last Saturday from day students are still pending.

He said the genomic sequencing is an integral part of the Ghana COVID-19 response, supported by the government and three institutions involved in genomic sequencing of the Covid-19 cases since July 2020.

The GHS Director-General further said that about 1,212 Covid-19 samples had been sequenced and the dominant variant is the Alpha strain, adding that the Delta strain was first detected in Ghana in April among international arrivals.

He said community detection of the Delta strain was confirmed in July 1, 2021 and the Covid-19 taskforce was informed on July 2.