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Ghana Says Delta Variant Driving Nation’s Third Covid-19 Wave - BLOOMBERG
(Bloomberg) --
Ghana seems to be facing a third wave of coronavirus infections driven by the more transmissible delta variant, according to President Nana Akufo-Addo.
The West African nation restricted the time of events such as weddings and funerals to two hours, banning post-event receptions because of the risk of people abandoning safety protocols such as mask-wearing and social distancing.
“It appears that our nation like many others is experiencing a third wave of Covid-19 infections,” Akufo-Addo said in a state broadcast late Sunday. “These increased infections have largely been driven by the delta variant of the virus.”
Ghana has seen over 102,000 Covid-19 cases, including 823 deaths, since the first case was reported. Active cases more than tripled to 4,521 as of July 23 from 1,200 in June, according to Akufo-Addo who described the trend as alarming. The delta variant has led in recent weeks to “a rise in hospitalization and ICU bed uptakes, and tragically deaths,” he said.
The country, which aims to vaccinate its 20 million adults by the end of this year, has set aside $25 million to help fund local vaccine manufacturing, he said.
