He has just been awarded a Diploma in National Security and International Diplomacy by the prestigious Galilee International Management Institute (GIMI), based in Galilee, Israel.

With more than 30 years of a rich history, GIMI has become a world class Institution for the upgrading of the knowledge base of senior leaders across the globe and has an Alumni Association that includes several senior professionals globally.

In this time of Israel declaring total war on Gaza, Mr. Anyidoho chose to brave it out and travel to Israel for his training.

Joining fellow Africans from, Ghana, Nigeria. Chad, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mr. Anyidoho and his colleagues, after a detailed study, were awarded their Diplomas on, Wednesday, January 24, 2024, at a ceremony held by GIMI in the Golden Crown Hotel in the city of Nazareth.

Aspects of the course included, Israel’s National Security Challenges: Opportunities and Adaptations, Diplomacy In Times Of Emergency, Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terror Regulation and Prevention, History of the Middle East, Economic Development Based On The Israeli Experience,, Communication and Media Management in Emergency Situations.

In 2023, Koku Anyidoho, became an Accredited Member of the Institute of Public Relations (IPR) Ghana, graduated with a Masters from the Trinity Theological Seminary and became an Accredited Member of the Ghana Psychological Council (GPA).

As he continues to expand his knowledge base via non-stop acquisition of valuable training both home and abroad, the Founder and CEO of AMI is certainly blazing a solid trail that positions him as a motivated person who has not allowed his high heights in politics to make him feel he has accomplished everything in life.

According to Mr. Anyidoho, “it is my greatest desire to use my story to impart knowledge and most importantly impact positively on the upcoming generation of future leaders by giving them the transformative power they need to develop the appropriate mindset for building the Better Ghana we all yearn for”.

It is expected that before the end of March, 2024, Samuel Anyidoho will launch his first personally authored book titled, “Uncompromising Thoughts”.

In a statement marking 31 years of Ghana’s Fourth Republic, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer, criticised the alleged use of “thugs and rogue elements within the security agencies” during the polls resulting in fatalities.

Mr Mahama said such elements are often used to “disrupt elections in some parts of the country as occurred in the 2020 elections, leading to the loss of eight lives.”

The former President finds it troubling that three years after the tragic events, President Akufo-Addo has not offered condolences to the bereaved families.

He emphasised that the perpetrators remain at large, holding positions of authority and power.

Mr Mahama called for eternal vigilance as Ghana prepares for upcoming elections, stressing that the loss of any Ghanaian life should not be tolerated.

He urged the current government to ensure peaceful elections and emphasised the importance of preserving the democratic credentials established over the last 32 years of constitutional rule.

Mahama yet to congratulate me for winning election 20202

President Akufo-Addo during his speech to mark Constitution Day said he is still waiting for his main contender, John Mahama, to congratulate him on his victory.

Read more: I am yet to receive a congratulatory message from Mahama for winning election 2020 – Akufo-Addo

“On a lighter note, three years on, I am still waiting for my main opponent in the 2020 election to congratulate me on my victory,” he said. 

Days after the declaration of the 2020 election result, Mr Mahama dragged the Electoral Commission (EC) and President Akufo-Addo to court, challenging the validity of the December 7 election results.

He prayed the Supreme Court to nullify the declaration and to cause a re-run between himself and President Akufo-Addo.

Nonetheless, after hearing the case for three months, on March 4, 2021, a seven-member panel of Supreme Court Judges in a unanimous decision dismissed the election petition filed by the 2020 presidential candidate.

Asiedu Nketia believes competence must be the focus and the most important quality to consider in deciding who becomes the country’s next leader and not religion or tribes

He was speaking at a Town Hall meeting in Sunyani where various identifiable groups brought their ideas to help in building the NDC’s manifesto.

“What we want is an individual who will put our taxes into good use. The religious sect the individual decides to join is none of our business”, he emphasised.

He continued, “Only two towns in this country speak my native nkoran language. If people decided to vote on tribal lines during the election of party officers I wouldn’t have gotten any vote. But people noticed my competence and gave me the chance and I want that replicated in the general election”.

According to the NDC Chairman, the party refuses to give room for religious and tribal in its political discourse since it is a recipe for chaos.

“If we are to merge tribalism, ethnicity and religion with politics, it will take God from heaven to settle misunderstandings because He is the only one who can choose the best among what he created” he said. 

The town hall meeting at Sunyani wrapped up the two-day “Building Ghana Tour” of the John Mahama campaign to the Bono Region.

At the event, leadership of identifiable groups had opportunity to present their concerns before the party.

These concerns will feed into the manifesto of the political party.

Flagbearer of the NDC, John Dramani Mahama assured the public challenges raised by the groups will be addressed in the party’s manifesto.

This pioneering scholarship program, developed in partnership with the esteemed University of Ghana, College of Humanities, is poised to recognize and support the remarkable talent of undergraduate students across Africa who are driving technological change with GH₵100,000 worth of scholarships.

This collaboration with the University of Ghana, College of Humanities, strengthens the initiative’s academic credentials and ensures that the program reaches a broad and diverse range of students.

To further ignite the spark of innovation and promote the power of technology, TECNO also highlighted the refurbishment of a Student Experience Hub at the New College of Humanities Office.

This dedicated space will be equipped with TECNO’s flagship MegabookT1 laptops and a variety of smart devices from the TECNO AIOT ecosystem, providing students with an opportunity to explore, learn, and have fun with cutting-edge technology to foster creative and innovation.
 
Under the banner of “Empower the Pioneer,” the TECNO Future Star Initiative stands as a testament to TECNO’s unwavering commitment to nurturing the potential of Africa’s youth and empowering the leaders of tomorrow.

With a firm belief in the transformative power of education, TECNO has  a resolute objective: to inspire and support young college students pursuing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) subjects. TECNO recognizes that Africa’s young talent forms the driving force behind the continent’s technological advancements, and it is TECNO’s duty to empower them to fulfil their dreams and realize their full potential.

Mr. Ernest Sonkor, National Channel Manager at TECNO, offered his remarks on the launch of this momentous initiative, stating, “At TECNO, we recognize that Africa’s youth are the pioneers of tomorrow. We want to encourage students majoring in STEM subjects to push their boundaries, reach for excellence, and never stop striving for greatness. Through the TECNO Future Star Initiative, we aim to be a catalyst for change, a source of inspiration, and a driving force for the technological transformation of Africa.”

The Provost of the University of Ghana, College of Humanities, Professor Daniel Frimpong Ofori took the stage to commend TECNO for this groundbreaking partnership. 

In his speech, he lauded the initiative as a testament to TECNO’s commitment to education and innovation. He emphasized that this partnership would contribute significantly to education within the College of Humanities, fostering academic growth and nurturing the next generation of leaders in STEM fields. The Provost expressed his gratitude to TECNO for its dedication to empowering students and enhancing the educational landscape in Africa. The partnership, he remarked, would undoubtedly help bridge the gap between academic excellence and real-world technological advancements.

The University of Ghana, College of Humanities pledged its unwavering support for the initiative, recognizing it as a vital step towards strengthening the educational foundation of the institution and promoting innovation among STEM students. 

With great enthusiasm, the Provost looked forward to the positive impact this partnership would have on education, technology, and, most importantly, the aspirations of countless young minds.

ET Mensah, a member of Ghana’s Council of State died on Sunday, October 1, 2023 in South Africa where he was undergoing treatment. He was 77.

The delegation sent by the party and government was led by Joseph Nii Laryea Afotey-Agbo, former Greater Accra Regional Minister and former Member of Parliament for Kpone-Katamanso Constituency. He is currently the Caretaker Chief of Kpone-Katamanso.

The rest are: Ade Coker, the former Greater Accra Regional Chairman of NDC; Ebenezer Mensah, junior brother of ET Mensah and Diana Nortey, the Queen Mother of Prampram.

The team was met on arrival by the NDC South African Chapter led by Benjamin Kofi Quashie and other chapter executives and members who have been liaising with the family and the party since the demise of the party stalwart.

There were lots of NDC sympathizers who thronged the airport to receive the high level delegation from Ghana.

Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Charles Owiredu sent a representative, Philip Acquah, minister in charge of Consular Affairs to welcome the delegation at the airport and to express their condolences to the grieving families.

The body would be brought to Ghana on Tuesday, October 10.

Ghana’s President, Nana Akufo-Addo, has notified the family that he wants to be at the Kotoka International Airport, together with the members of the Council of State, to receive the body of one of Ghana’s illustrious sons.

President Akufo-Addo described E. T. Mensah, a former Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram, as a “good friend”, adding that he “was a warm, generous, gregarious man with a keen intellect and a wonderful sense of humour.”

The NDC on Thursday directed that all party flags fly at half-mast in honour of Mr Enoch Teye Men­sah and another party stalwart, Dr. Sidney Laryea.

Profile of the late ET Mensah

Enoch Teye Mensah (17 May 1946 – 1 October 2023), commonly known as E. T. Mensah, was a Ghanaian politician. He was a Minister for Education and a Member of Parliament in Ghana from January 1997 till January 2017.

Early life and education

Mensah was born on 17 May 1946 and comes from Prampram in the Greater Accra Region Ghana. He schooled at the SNAPS College of Accountancy, which he completed in 1968. He also had his RSA III in 1970, and he became a fellow of the Institute of Financial Accountants in 1986. He was an Accounts Officer and worked at the University of Ghana, Legon as Accounting Officer.

Political Career/Mayor of Accra

During the time of the PNDC military regime in Ghana, he was the long time Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), akin to being the Mayor of the City of Accra. He joined the National Democratic Congress when it was formed in 1992.

As Member of Parliament, Mensah was a Ghanaian politician and stood for the Ghanaian parliamentary election in 1996 and was elected member of Parliament for the Ningo-Prampram constituency, holding the seat for almost a decade. He first went into parliament after he was elected as a Member of Parliament of the second parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana during the 1996 Ghanaian General Election. He polled a total valid vote cast of 15,677, representing 56.10%, defeating his opponents; Desmond Nene Quaynor who polled 1,569, which represented 5.60% of the total votes cast and Gwendolyn Sara Addo, an Independent candidate who also polled 1,537 representing 5.50% under the membership of the National Democratic Congress.

After the NDC lost the 2000 elections, he continued as a member of parliament, winning in subsequent elections in 2004, 2008 and 2012, maintaining his seat until 2016. He once served as the Minority Chief Whip in parliament prior to the Ghanaian parliamentary election in 2008. In January 2009, when the NDC won majority in parliament, he became the Majority Chief Whip in parliament.

On 21 November 2015, Mensah lost the NDC parliamentary primaries to Sam Nartey George, bringing an end to his 20 years stay in parliament and lost his chance to stand for MP in the 2016 elections.

As Minister of State

At the beginning of the Fourth Republic, he was appointed Minister for Youth and Sports by President Jerry Rawlings. Mensah held that position through both terms of the Rawlings government. In January 2010, after a cabinet reshuffle, President John Atta Mills appointed him Minister for Employment and Social Welfare.

Mensah was a member of the Pan-African Parliament until January 2009, when he resigned after being appointed a minister of state. Again, in 2010, Mensah was appointed Minister for Employment and Social Welfare. In January 2011, he was appointed Minister for Education following the resignation of Betty Mould-Iddrisu.

On 12 February 2021, Mensah was unanimously elected as the representative of Council of State for the Greater Accra Region.

Personal life and death

Mensah was married with seven children.  He died in South Africa on 1 October 2023, at the age of 77.

Honours

Mensah was awarded the Companion of the Order of the Volta by President Kufuor’s government.

The 72-year-old, who is vaccinated and has received boosters, will stay at home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where she and President Joe Biden spent part of the weekend.

The president tested negative for the virus after her diagnosis.

He then travelled back to Washington DC on his own on Monday night.

Mr Biden, 80, “will test at a regular cadence this week and monitor for symptoms”, a spokeswoman said.

His wife’s positive test comes ahead of a busy week for the president.

He is due to travel to the G20 summit in India on Thursday, before a scheduled visit to Hanoi on Sunday for a one-day visit where he will meet Vietnamese leaders.

No changes have been made to his foreign travel plans at this time, an administration official told CNN on Monday.

The pair spent time together over the weekend, including a visit to Florida on Saturday where they viewed the recovery efforts following Hurricane Idalia.

Mrs Biden last tested positive for Covid in August 2022, a few weeks after Mr Biden did so. Both recovered without experiencing major symptoms.

Cases are surging across the US after new variants emerged over the summer, but remain far below the pandemic-era peak.

Renowned Ghanaian surgeon, Professor Frimpong-Boateng, says his relationship with president Nana Akufo-Addo is still cordial despite his controversial report as the Chairperson of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining.

In a 36-page document on the fight against illegal mining in the country, he accused some government officials of having interfered in his efforts to combat the menace.

According to the leaked report which went viral, these officials have interests in illegal mining operations in the country, which made his work difficult.

His allegations were, however, described by the Presidency as ‘hearsays’; amidst exchanges between himself and some government officials, including the Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.

But speaking in an exclusive interview with JoyNews on the back of these tensions and news of his recent arrest by the Special Prosecutor, the physician said no rift has been created between himself and his former appointor, president Akufo-Addo.

When asked if he would greet the president if he met him, he responded in the affirmative; adding that, “he [president Akufo-Addo]’ is not that petty”.

“[My relationship with the president] is cordial and business-like; and he knows me very well”; he stated in a special edition on JoyNews’ PM Express on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, June 7, there were widespread reports on how he was arrested by the Special Prosecutor a few weeks ago.

According to the reports, he was arrested in connection with his role as the Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on illegal mining; after he which was granted bail.

Reacting to this, he told host, Evans Mensah, that the arrest did not happen on Wednesday, June 7, as it had been widely circulated.

He noted that he was arrested by the Special Prosecutor to aid some investigations regarding illegal mining activities, during his tenure as Minister for Environment, Science and Technology.

This arrest, he, however, described as a ‘surprise’; lamenting that he does not deserve the treatment he has received so far.

In his view, he has been ‘demonsied’; though he was on a path to help the nation.

Meanwhile, the Special Prosecutor says it will take action against all persons cited for wrong doing in the controversial report.

In a statement on Tuesday May 2, the OSP said it will take “necessary action”, against all persons implicated in the report authored by renowned heart surgeon.

Mr Quayson was ousted from Parliament and his name expunged from the legislative body’s records after the Supreme Court nullified his election in the 2020 polls for holding dual citizenship.

The Court held that his election was null and void because at the time he filed to contest, he owed allegiance to another country contrary to Ghanaian laws.

In a statement, Mr Quayson insisted that he duly renounced his Canadian citizenship prior to contesting the 2020 polls but said “the most important thing to me right now is to contest and win the bye-election which is the result of what the Supreme Court announced on 17th May 2023. I am determined to continue serving the good people of the Assin North with all my heart, soul, body and all the resources I can muster for the benefit of my constituents.”

This decision comes after the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on whose ticket Mr Quayson ran for the 2020 general election says they have already rolled out plans to contest the bye-election and retain the seat.

The party said it will maintain Mr Quayson as its candidate ahead of the bye-election.

The building collapsed on two siblings; a girl, five years, and a seven-year-old boy in the bedroom while the mother was in the kitchen cooking.

According to the mother of the two children, Diana Labotey, the heavy rainfall caused the living room to collapse, trapping her children.

Her daughter was injured badly in the head while the boy suffered some deep cuts on his body.

They were immediately rushed to the Eastern Regional Hospital where the girl was pronounced dead.

Meanwhile, her son is still receiving treatment in the same facility.

The incident has since been reported to the Koforidua Central Police station for further investigation.

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Some newcomers gave them a run for their money leading to 16 sitting MPs losing their seats at the parliamentary primaries held on May 13, 2023.

Former Minister for Power and Member of Parliament for Pru East, Kwabena Donkor, lost to Lord Kwaku Boam in the primaries held on Saturday, May 13, 2023.

Mr. Boam polled 474 votes to beat Kwabena Donkor who polled 371 votes and Bright Fiawornu who polled 66 votes.

The incumbent MP for Chiana-Paga, Thomas Dalu, also lost his slot to a young businessman, Nikyema Alamzy who polled 488 votes against Mr. Dalu’s 300 votes.

Simon Akibange Aworigo polled 475 votes to defeat three other aspirants including the incumbent MP for Navrongo Central, Samson Tangombu Chiragia.

The MP for Bongo, Edward Bawa was also shown the red card by NDC delegates in his constituency. He lost to Charles Bawaduah.

Below are the 17 incumbent MPs who lost:

1. Alex Adomako lost to a newcomer, Hajia Nasira Afrah (Sekyere Afram Plains) 

2. Edward Bawa lost with 509 votes as Charles Bawaduah polled 535 votes (Bongo Constituency)

3. Wisdom Gidisu lost with 257 votes to Nelson Kofi Djabab, who had 441 votes (Krachie East) 

4. Alhaji A. B. A. Fuseini had 330 votes  and lost to Attah Issah who polled 801 votes (Sagnarigu constituency)

5. Abeiku Crentsil had 149 votes and lost to Dr. Ekow Kwainoo who had 329 votes (Ekumfi Constituency)

6. Dela Sowah had 281 votes and lost to Sebastian Fred Deh who had 332 votes (Kpando Constituency)

7. Dr Kwabena Donkor had 371 votes and lost to Emmanuel Boam who had 474 votes (Pru East)

8. Angela Alorwu-Tay polled 225 votes, losing to her contender, Frank Afriyie who won with 631 votes (Afadzato South) 

9. Wisdom Kobena Woyome had 562 votes and lost to Maxwell Kwame Lukutor with 597 votes (South Tongu Constituency)

10. Thomas Addah Dalu also lost with 300 votes to a young businessman, Nikyema Alamzy who polled 488 votes (China-Paga) 

11. Sampson Tangombu Chiragia also lost with 447 votes to Simon Akibange Aworigo, who won with 475 votes (Navrongo Central) 

12. Augustine Tawiah polled 452 votes and  lost to Mustapha Amadu Tanko who had 935 votes (Bia West Constituency)

13. Peter Yaw Kwakye Ackah had 575 votes and lost to Joana Gyan Cudjoe who had 756 votes (Amenfi Central)

14. Sophia Karen Edem Ackuaku (Domeabra-Obom MP but switched to Ayawaso Central)

15. Christian Otuteye (Sege Constituency)

16. Edward Kaale-Ewola Dery (Lambussie)

17. Albert Akuka Alalzuuga (Garu Constituency)

Bismarck Abor-Ayittey said the constituency’s focus is not on Mr Bonsu as far as the NDC primaries are concerned.

“He’s not our direction. Our direction is not towards Kojo Bonsu. He has not even been in the constituency to interact with delegates.

“We didn’t see any agent of his representing him here. So you can technically say that he’s not serious,” he said.

According to him, they are backing former President John Mahama to win the election because he has been to all constituencies to spread a message that resonates with them.

Given that Mr. Bonsu had not done same, the chairman expressed that he might not even garner half of the votes.

Meanwhile, although the election has gone on peacefully, the constituency chairman expressed that the pulling out of Dr Kwabena Duffuor in the flagbearer race has affected voter turnout.

According to him, the party has fallen short of over 600 votes due to Dr Duffuor’s actions.

He added that family responsibilities also took others away.

This was contained in a letter addressed to the Executive Secretary of the National Labour Commission.

The letter, signed by JUSAG’s General Secretary, Abdulai Yakubu, states that the government has until Friday, May 12, 2023, to approve and implement reviewed salaries with all the arrears from January 2023, failing which the association will proceed with the strike.

The letter referred to a previous letter dated May 5, 2023, addressed to the President, which requested approval of the recommendation of the Judicial Council on the review of salaries and related allowances for staff of the Judicial Service in line with Article 149 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana. 

The letter also acknowledged the economic challenges in the country and the withdrawal of the Cost of Living Allowance in December 2022, but noted that members of JUSAG had shown patience for the past four months.

Judicial staff

JUSAG has reiterated its notice to the National Labour Commission, stating that if the approval is not received by the stated date, members will wear red armbands to work from May 15, 2023, for one week.

The letter further states that if no approval is received by May 19, 2023, JUSAG will embark on an indefinite strike. The association’s leadership urged the President to act swiftly to prevent adverse consequences to justice delivery.

At the National May Day parade in Bolgatanga, Mr Yakubu, speaking through the Ghana News Agency, the JUSAG General Secretary called on the government to urgently review their salaries.

He pointed out that members of the Judicial Service, the third arm of government that provided critical services, were dissatisfied with their salaries, which had not been reviewed for two years and four months. 

He emphasized that they had exercised enough patience and that the President needed to approve the new salary recommendation.

Standing by the roadside, the Ambassador was enjoying a piece of the plantain in her hands.

In the picture, Ati Zigi was captured getting something from his purse, as the roasted plantain seller packaged their order.

Below is the viral photo

The risk of contagion is mainly to those who handle cadavers, like pathologists, medical examiners and health care workers, and in settings like hospitals and nursing homes, where many deaths may occur.

While transmission from corpses is not likely to be a major factor in the pandemic, bereaved family members should exercise caution, experts said.

“In some countries, people who have died of Covid-19 are being left unattended or taken back to their homes,” said Hisako Saitoh, a researcher at Chiba University in Japan who published two recent studies on the phenomenon.

“Therefore, I think that it is a knowledge that the general public should be aware of,” he wrote in an email.

Several studies have found traces of infectious virus in corpses for as long as 17 days after death. Dr. Saitoh and his colleagues went further, showing that dead bodies may carry significant amounts of infectious virus, and that dead hamsters can transmit it to live cage mates.

The research has not yet been vetted for publication in a scientific journal, but outside experts said that the studies were well-done and the results compelling.

The risk of a live patient spreading the coronavirus is far greater than the potential transmission from corpses, Dr. Saitoh and other scientists emphasized.

If infection from corpses accounted for a large number of cases, “we would have noticed, right?” said Vincent Munster, a virologist at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Still, “If there is an infectious virus, there is always a risk for transmission,” he continued. “I don’t think it’s something which is often addressed.”

In the United States, bodies usually are embalmed soon after death or cremated. But in the Netherlands, where Dr. Munster grew up, as in many parts of the world, family members may wash and dress the bodies.

In July 2020, the Japanese government urged bereaved family members to keep their distance from dead bodies and refrain from touching them — or even viewing them. Officials also recommended sealing corpses in impermeable bags and cremating them within 24 hours.

The guidelines were revised in May 2022 to allow family members to see loved ones who died of Covid, but “in an appropriately infection-controlled hospital room.”

Those guidelines in part prompted Dr. Saitoh to explore what happens to the virus in the body after death.

He and his colleagues looked at samples from the noses and the lungs of 11 people who had died of Covid. The researchers found that high amounts of virus persisted in six of the 11 corpses, even 13 days after death.

“It was surprising that infectious titers were preserved at the same high levels as in the clinical patients,” Dr. Saitoh wrote. “What was most surprising, however, were the results of the animal experiments.”

In those experiments, he and his colleagues found that hamsters that died within a few days of becoming infected with the coronavirus could transmit it to other animals. In people, too, contagion is most likely when a patient dies soon after infection, when the levels of virus in the body are very high, the researchers said.

The team found more virus in the lungs of human corpses than in the upper respiratory tract. That suggests that those who perform autopsies should be particularly careful when handling the lungs, experts said. Dr. Saitoh pointed to a study from Thailand describing a forensic practitioner who appeared to have been infected during work.

Gases that build up after death can be expelled through any orifice in the body, including the mouth, and may carry infectious virus, the researchers said. Embalming or practicing so-called “angel care” — a Japanese ritual in which the mouth, nose, ears and anus are plugged with cotton pads — prevented transmission, they found.

Contagious corpses are not without precedent. Most famously, funeral and burial practices have triggered large outbreaks of Ebola virus in Africa.

But the coronavirus is very different, noted Angela Rasmussen, a research scientist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada.

Up to 70 percent of those infected with Ebola die, compared with about 3 percent of those diagnosed with Covid-19. And the Ebola virus floods every part of the body, so the risk of transmission, even after death, is far greater than that posed in theory by the coronavirus.

“With Ebola, it’s clearly direct contact with bodily fluids, because there’s high titers of Ebola pretty much everywhere in somebody who’s died from Ebola,” Dr. Rasmussen said.

The second leg is scheduled for Saturday, September 3, at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja with kick-off scheduled at 15:00GMT.

Annor Walker’s side took a two-goal win in the first leg of the final qualifier game at the Cape Coast Stadium courtesy of goals from Daniel Afriyie Barnieh and Seidu Suraj.

Ahead of the encounter this weekend, Preko has urged the Ghanaian team to protect their goal and prevent Nigeria from scoring.

“[They have to] make sure they don’t concede. Nigerians are not better than us in terms of football so I don’t see the reason why we have to be afraid,” Preko, who is a former Black Stars player, said as reported by Joy Sports.

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“I coached in Nigeria for a season. They are not better than us. That is the time we beat them in the WAFU [tournament] in Cape Coast. We have what it takes. It’s about confidence, the boys need to be confident. They managed to get two goals [in the first leg] which is good. We go in there not just about defending but to make sure we don’t concede and play as a team.

“They have a very good trainer [in Annor Walker] and a good technical team so I am not scared,” added.

Ghana is hoping to qualify for the tournament to be held in Algeria after failing to qualify for the last three editions.

The 79-year-old, who is fully vaccinated and has twice received booster jabs, will isolate at the White House and continue to carry out all his duties, a statement said.

The president is taking the antiviral medicine Paxlovid, officials said.

He will take part in meetings via telephone and Zoom, the White House communication added.

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Officials in Beihai locked down urban areas and ordered the mass testing of its 1.9m residents over the weekend.

It comes as concerns grow about the impact of China’s “zero-Covid” policy on the world’s second largest economy.

Last week, official figures showed the country’s economy shrank in the second quarter of this year as Covid-19 restrictions hit firms and consumers.

Beihai, which is a popular summer destination in China’s southern Guangxi region, recorded more than 450 infections in the five days to 16 July.

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While that level of cases may seem low by international standards it is considered high under the Chinese government’s approach to the pandemic.

On Sunday, Beihai’s local government said tourists who had not been in contact with anyone who had contracted the virus, or visited medium or high-risk areas, would be allowed to leave if they showed a negative Covid-19 test.

The rest must stay in the city and be quarantined, officials told a news conference.

One tourist on holiday in Beihai expressed her frustration in a comment on the social media platform Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, which has received more than 2,700 likes.

“I just finished my 3 months lockdown in Shanghai. I just came to Beihai for a breath of fresh air, did I annoy anyone?” she said.

Elsewhere in China authorities are stepping up measures to combat rising Covid cases.

On Monday, Shanghai’s local government said it would require residents in more than half of its 16 districts to be tested for the virus, after holding similar tests last week.

The major financial, trade and manufacturing centre only reopened in June after a two-month lockdown.

It is one of several large Chinese cities that are tackling new clusters of infections.

The Covid situation in China has “worsened slightly on a national level” over the past week, Japanese banking giant Nomura said in a note on Monday.

“Based on our own survey, 41 cities are currently implementing full or partial lockdowns or some kind of district-based control measures, which involve stringent measures restricting the mobility of local residents,” analysts Ting Lu, Jing Wang and Harrington Zhang said.

“These 41 cities make up 18.7% of China’s population and 22.8% of China’s GDP [Gross Domestic Product],” they added.

On Friday, government data showed the country’s economy contracted sharply in the second quarter of this year as widespread coronavirus lockdowns had a major impact on businesses and consumers.

GDP fell by 2.6% in the three months to the end of June from the previous quarter.

Large cities across China, including Shanghai, were put into full or partial lockdowns during this period as the country continues to pursue its zero-Covid policy.

GDP or Gross Domestic Product is one of the most important ways of showing how well, or badly, an economy is doing.

It’s a measure of all the activity of companies, governments and individuals in an economy.

Gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 2.6% in the three months to the end of June from the previous quarter.

Major cities across China, including the major financial and manufacturing centre Shanghai, were put into full or partial lockdowns during this period.

This comes as the country continues to pursue its “zero-Covid” policy.

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On a year-on-year basis, the world’s second-largest economy expanded by 0.4% in the April-June quarter, missing expectations of 1% growth.

“Second quarter GDP growth was the worst outcome since the start of the pandemic, as lockdowns, notably in Shanghai, severely impacted activity at the start of the quarter,” Tommy Wu, lead economist at Oxford Economics, told the BBC.

One victim of this downturn was British luxury fashion brand Burberry, which announced in a trading update on Friday that its sales in China had been badly affected.

The company saw its Chinese sales drop by 35% in the first quarter as shoppers were forced to stay at home. However, it added that since stores reopened in China in June, its performance there has been “encouraging”.

This was reflected in official government figures for last month, which showed an improvement in the country’s economic performance after many curbs were lifted.

“June data was more positive, with activity picking up after most of the lockdowns were lifted. But the real estate downturn continued to drag on growth,” said Mr Wu.

Meanwhile, Jeff Halley, senior market analyst for Asia Pacific at trading platform Oanda, told the BBC that he also saw some bright spots in the latest economic data from China.

“GDP was worse than expected, however unemployment fell to 3.5% and retail sales outperformed impressively,” he said.

“Financial markets are likely to concentrate on the retail figures, which appear to show the Chinese consumer in better shape than expected,” Mr Halley added.

However, many analysts do not expect a quick economic recovery for China as the government continues with its strict zero-Covid approach to slowing the spread of the coronavirus.

The country’s once-booming property market is in a deep slump and the outlook for the global economy has weakened sharply in recent months.

GDP measures the size of an economy. Gauging its expansion or contraction is one of the most important ways of measuring how well or badly an economy is performing and is closely watched by economists and central banks.

It helps businesses to judge when to expand and recruit more workers or invest less and cut their workforces.

Governments also use it to guide decisions on everything from tax to spending. It is a key gauge, along with inflation, for central banks when considering whether or not to raise or lower interest rates.

The passport will be in digital format. A QR code will be scanned to show proof that someone has been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and has a valid vaccine certificate.

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It was launched on Friday, which is Africa Integration Day, at a virtual event attended by some African heads of state and other global health leaders.

Acting head of Africa CDC, Ahmed Ogwell, says the vaccine e-passport will soon be expanded to include other certificates such as Yellow Fever.

He added that the Africa CDC was also holding talks to link the passport to other global systems.

Mr Mahama has also urged the citizenry to adhere to all the safety protocols, especially during the Christmas festivities.

“Let’s also observe the COVID protocols. Observe social distancing, wash your hands as frequently as possible, avoid handshakes, use hand sanitisers and wear a mask. And please GET VACCINATED if you haven’t done so yet. If you have, go for your second dose,” he urged.

In a new year message, he emphasised the yuletide has been characterised by super-spreader events such as mega concerts, street carnivals and beach parties, hence the need for everyone to be cautious.

“Over the last two weeks, many people are nursing colds and flu-like symptoms, but with most people not going for a Covid-19 test, it is being attributed to the seasonal harmattan weather,” he bemoaned.

Expressing concerns over data from health workers over the spike in positive cases, he called for prayers for the frontliners.

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“Dr Frank Serebuor, President of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has put out a distress notice that medical personnel are overwhelmed by the numbers that are having to go into isolation because of the more transmissible covid-19 omicron variant.

“The New Year season is here! Let’s be more conscious of our health as we pray for health workers because of the more transmissible omicron variant,” he urged.

Read the full post below:

The surging cases of omicron variants in European countries have raised concerns over the possibility of a third wave of COVID-19 across the globe.

While experts are still struggling to understand the nature of this new variant to chalk out the preventive strategy, another variant has come to the fore.

Named Delmicron, experts believe that this strain is actually responsible for the COVID tsunami in the United States and Europe. Not too difficult to decipher, Delmicron is a combination of the Delta and Omicron variants.

​Understanding Delmicron

Delmicron is not a new variant of the coronavirus like Alpha, Beta and others. It is the combination of the two existing strains- Delta and Omicron. It is a double variant of COVID-19 spreading rapidly in the West.

The Delta variant dominated from mid-April to mid-June and was primarily responsible for the second wave of coronavirus that claimed millions of lives across the globe.

This strain of virus leads to severe symptoms and even the risk of hospitalization is greater. Besides, post-infection the strain can also lead to long term symptoms like brain fog, muscle aches and hair fall.

When we talk about omicron, it is believed to cause milder symptoms. Although it is quite transmissible, it does not lead to severe symptoms and the risk of hospitalization is lower.

However, experts believe that the omicron variant can surpass the immunity provided by natural infection and vaccinations.

Initial symptoms of omicron infection include sore throat, headache and fatigue. Loss of smell and taste is not reported in the case of omicron.

​What are the symptoms of Delmicron?

As Delmicron is created with the merging of Delta and Omicron versions of coronavirus, it is considered to be highly transmissible and potent to cause severe symptoms.

A lot more research is needed to gain detailed knowledge about its nature. As far as the symptoms go, being a combination of Delta and Omicron, Delmicron infection tends to show more or less the same symptom as its parent variants. The common signs include:

• A high temperature
• A persistent cough
• A loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
• Headache
• Runny nose
• Sore throat

​Delmicron in India

The cases of the Omicron variant are rising in the country.

Till now more than 350 cases of this strain have been found in the country, which is believed to spike in the coming days due to Christmas and New Year gatherings. Delmicron cases have not yet been reported in India.

Experts say that it is yet to see how the Omicron variant would behave in India where there is widespread exposure to the Delta variant.

Some even believe that omicron may not affect India as Delta did. What will exactly happen only time can tell.

By that time all we can do is get vaccinated and take all precautionary measures like washing hands and wearing masks to stay safe and protected.

Management says tests run on suspected cases in the past week came back 80 to 90 per cent positive.

The Medical Director of the Hospital, Prof Baafour Kofi Poku, recommends cancelling all Christmas activities to minimise the spread.

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Below is Luv FM’s Erastus Asare Donkor’s report:

Admitting the closure was affecting the source of livelihoods, he, however, emphasised the action was necessary to limit the importation of the disease.

President Akufo-Addo made these remarks in his 27th update on Covid-19 to the nation on Wednesday, December 15, 2021.

“As you know, the decision to close our borders, which are a source of livelihoods for many, was necessary because we wanted to limit the importation of the virus into the country,” he said.

Meanwhile, he assured the disease’s level of threat is still being monitored to ascertain when it will be appropriate to open the borders.

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“We are monitoring the level of the threat of the disease and ongoing vaccinations in our neighbouring countries, as soon as we are satisfied it is safe to do so, the borders will be open.

“Until then, I believe this is not the right time to reopen our land borders, especially as we are determined to prevent a 4th wave, and, as such, they will remain closed until further notice,” he emphasised.

Aimee ‘Jacqueline’ Ayala, 22, from El Paso, Texas, in the US, contracted the virus a month before she reached full term and was forced to give birth via emergency C-section just six days later on November 13.

Although doctors safely delivered baby Addison Mariand Morales, Jacqueline’s condition continued to decline and on November 30 she passed away.

The excited expecting mum looked a picture of health and happiness as she posed for several photos shown on her Facebook baring her baby bump or holding up garments for the new arrival.

But after testing positive for Covid-19 on November 13 Jacqueline was hospitalised and only got a brief look at her daughter before her health took a turn for the worst.

The new mum posted online about her “depression and despair” of being kept from her baby before she had to be intubated in a last ditch effort to help her breathe.

Two days later she died.

She has left behind her new daughter and partner, Juan Pablo Morales Orozco.

Her sister, Kimberly Ayala told KTSM: “As weeks went by she just got worse and then she went into cardiac respiratory arrest. She could breathe her heart stopped.”

“Knowing she never got to hold her, that was the worst part. She loved her so much we know she did because she gave her life for her,” said Kimberly.

At one point Jacqueline died for 15 minutes and though she was resuscitated, she was pronounced brain dead and officially died on November 30.

In a joint press conference at Jubilee House, with the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, on Saturday, he said, “we repeated our firm opposition to all attempts to single out African countries for the imposition of travel bans, as instruments of immigration control, when we are told, for example, that the Omicron variant of Covid-19, which was recently sequenced and reported by South African scientists, was discovered much earlier in the Netherlands.”

The President’s comments follow the decision by the US, UK and EU to bar entry to travellers from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Egypt, Mozambique, Malawi and Nigeria, following the discovery of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

The South African President is on a two-day visit to Ghana.

Addressing the media, President Akufo-Addo indicated that he exchanged views and information with President Ramaphosa about the joint fight against Covid-19.

He added, “I reiterated Ghana’s unflinching support to South Africa and, indeed, to all other African countries, in the common search for an end to the pandemic”.

He told the media that the purpose of the visit by the South African President is to re-affirm the ties of cooperation and the bonds of friendship between the two countries, with the two leaders discussing at length how to boost further political and economic relations, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, as well as cooperation at the continental and multilateral levels.

Their deliberations also centred on driving investment opportunities, domestic and foreign, into both countries, the realisation of the 17 SDGs, and the need for enhanced cooperation and partnership in the areas of education, trade and industry, agriculture, defence cooperation, immigration, environment, science and technology, petroleum and hydrocarbon activities, and tourism.

Whilst thanking President Ramaphosa and South Africa for supporting Ghana’s bid for the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and for a non-permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council, President Akufo-Addo reiterated that “Ghana will make sure that Africa’s voice is heard loud and clear in the deliberations of the Security Council, both on matters affecting the continent and on global issues, and we will consult broadly to define Africa’s interests”.

He continued, “With the continent confronted by multiple threats to the territorial integrity of some of its states, and many of its civilian populations being put under serious threat, President Ramaphosa and I both agreed that now is not the time for the Security Council to reduce its peacekeeping mandates on the continent”.

President Akufo-Addo applauded President Ramaphosa for his efforts to consolidate the peace in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), with the ongoing SADC mission to crush the violent insurgency in Mozambique’s northern province of Cabo Delgado, in which South African troops are playing a leading role.

“We, in ECOWAS, have much to learn from this in our own fight against the terrorist threat in the Sahel. President Ramaphosa expressed great interest in this fight, and pledged the support of SADC to ECOWAS within the context of the AU,” he said.

Such cooperation, he added, between regional bodies is important for ridding the continent of all the anti-democratic elements who have surfaced, and are seeking to destabilise and threaten the peace and security of Africa, and compromise the efforts at realising “The Africa we Want”, as enshrined in AU Agenda 2063.

The President added that “Ghana is determined to deepen her democratic governance, strengthen her institutions of accountability, and put her economy on a strong platform for rapid development.

“The vision remains that of a Ghana Beyond Aid, a self-reliant Ghana that has freed herself from a mindset of dependence, aid, charity and handouts, and is determined to make intelligent, disciplined use of her considerable resources the basis for her growth and prosperity.”

He reassured President Ramaphosa that Ghana will continue to collaborate with South Africa to find solutions to challenges such as the eradication of widespread poverty, elimination of irregular migration, insecurity and human rights violations.

Others include terrorism and violent extremism, human and drug trafficking, piracy, as well as climate change and its attendant, negative impact on the environment and livelihoods.

The NHS says people should look out for classic Covid symptoms:

• A new, continuous cough
• A fever/high temperature
• Loss of or change to smell or taste

But researchers say for some people, having Covid can feel “more like a bad cold” with symptoms such as a headache, sore throat and a runny nose.

If you think you may have Covid, it is important to get tested. Even people who don’t feel very ill can put others at risk.

A high temperature is 37.8C or above. A fever like this can happen when the body is fighting off any infection – not just coronavirus.

It is best to use a thermometer. But if you don’t have one, check if you, or the person you are worried about, feels hot to the touch on the chest or back.

A high temperature is unlikely with a cold. If you have a fever, arrange a coronavirus test.

What about a cough?

If you have a cold or flu you may well have a cough, along with other symptoms.

Flu usually comes on suddenly and sufferers will often experience muscle aches, chills, headaches, tiredness, a sore throat and a runny or stuffed nose, along with the cough. It feels worse than a heavy cold.

Colds tend to develop more gradually and are less severe, although they do still make you feel unwell. Along with a cough, there may be sneezing and a sore throat and runny nose. Fever, chills, muscle aches and headaches are rare.

A coronavirus cough means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or three or more coughing fits or “episodes” in 24 hours.

If you usually have a cough because of a long-standing medical condition like COPD, it may be worse than usual.

You should get tested for coronavirus if you develop a new, continuous cough.

What does loss or change to smell or taste mean?

These are key symptoms of coronavirus and mean you should get a test.

It could still be that you have a simple cold. But you need to check, even if you don’t feel unwell, to avoid the risk of spreading the virus.

Does sneezing mean I’ve got coronavirus?

Sneezing is not a classic symptom of coronavirus, and unless you also have a fever, cough or loss of smell and taste, you do not need a test, according to the NHS.

Sneeze droplets can spread infections though, so catch them in a tissue, put it in the bin and then wash your hands.

To help stop the spread of coronavirus and other illnesses:

• Wash your hands regularly
• Use a face covering when social distancing is not possible
• Try to keep your distance from those not in your household

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How about a runny or blocked nose or a headache?

Currently, the NHS says a runny nose or a headache is not a reason to get tested for Covid.

But research suggests some people who test positive for Covid do have these symptoms.

US guidelines say people with the following symptoms may have Covid:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhoea

What if I am very unwell?

People with coronavirus have a wide range of symptoms, ranging from mild to severe. Some will have none at all, but can still be infectious.

Symptoms may appear up to two weeks after exposure to coronavirus, but usually around day five.

Feeling breathless can be a sign of a more serious coronavirus infection.

If you are having trouble breathing, contact your doctor online or over the phone, or dial 112 to request for an ambulance.

And the NHS advises:

• Call 112 if you’re worried about a baby or child under five
• If your child seems very unwell, is getting worse or you think there’s something seriously wrong, call 112
• Do not delay getting help if you’re worried. Trust your instincts

Following a third wave, the Delta Variant, that has raised its head globally, President Akufo-Addo will, tonight, speak on measures the health sector has taken to curb it’s spread.

The address comes at the back of a press release by the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Legon, warning of the dangers the new virus pose.

In the statement, they affirmed that both doses of vaccines are not enough to serve as immunity, and called on the government to reinstate protocols.

President Akufo-Addo’s 26 address, which will be televised at the usual 8:00 pm, is, thus, expected to throw much light on it.

It has emerged that the government spent GHC 53 million in the evacuation of stranded Ghanaians abroad in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, said this in Parliament on Thursday while answering questions from North Tongu Member of Parliament, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.

According to her, the amount spent covered airfare, quarantine, food, and insurance of the travellers.

The Minister further explained 10,025 stranded Ghanaians were evacuated between 23rd May 2020 and 18th September 2020.

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She noted the government only spent on the vulnerable among the evacuees, constituting about 5,000.

Listen to the Minister in the audio attached:

Dubai Airports chief executive Paul Griffiths told the BBC: “I don’t think there is an alternative.”

Critics of the digital systems argue they discriminate against those who cannot get vaccinated.

But Mr Griffiths says he is a complete supporter of the documents, which he says are “inevitable”.

“I think the problem is not the vaccine passport and its discrimination. It’s the need to roll things out and have a proper globally equitable vaccine programme,” he said.

The World Health Organisation and World Travel & Tourism Council are among those opposed to vaccine passports amid fears they will create a “two-tier society”.

Last month, Dr Mike Ryan from the WHO repeated concerns about the ethical and fairness issues surrounding vaccine passports.

“They do need to be considered, especially in a world where vaccine is distributed in such a grossly inequitable way,” he said.

Economic pain

The aviation industry is desperately looking for ways to pick up speed after the damage wrought by government restrictions and a collapse in passenger confidence.

According to the Air Transport Action Group, it was making a $3.5 trillion annual contribution to the global economy before the pandemic.

However, with flights grounded, the numbers going through Dubai International Airport have collapsed in a similar way to the rest of the industry.

Even so, 2020 was Dubai’s seventh year in a row as the world’s busiest airport for international passengers, having overtaken London Heathrow in 2014.

A record 86.3 million people passed through in 2019, but as the coronavirus pandemic grounded flights, that fell 70% to 25.8 million last year.

Mr Griffiths wants that number to rise again: “We need to get into risk management rather than risk avoidance.”

He added: “I just don’t think the world can survive without that mobility for much longer, certainly socially and economically, but you can understand why countries around the world are being very conservative. The last thing any politician wants is a surge of infection on their turf.”

Last year, the United Arab Emirates saw its economy contract by 6.1% amid the global slowdown.

For Dubai, a Middle Eastern hub which plays a key role in joining East and West, air travel is key to repairing the damage.

Mr Griffiths says: “The city’s been built as a global hub and it’s enabled a tremendous commercial and tourism centre to be developed here in the UAE.

“So we are pretty dependent, because at least 35% of GDP is based around the enablement of travel and tourism, so it has a big dramatic effect here.”

To get through the crisis, the airport has cut costs by closing entire terminals and concourses, which means a bailout from Dubai’s government has been avoided.

“We were able to get into a position where we could cover all of our costs with about 20% of our throughput, which is where we are at the moment,” explains Mr Griffiths.

He adds that 8,500 jobs have been reduced to 2,500. “It’s been a lot of pain for a lot of people. But we’re well positioned to recover now.”

Rival systems?

The desire to recover and avoid new outbreaks of coronavirus has led to the emergence of several different Covid travel passes. The European Union, the G20 and International Air Transport Association are all working on schemes.

Mr Griffiths says even if multiple systems are introduced for checking passengers, his airport can avoid queues such as those seen at London Heathrow.

“Whatever the system, we will adapt our processes to ensure that our passengers aren’t put in huge long queues,” he adds.

Safety measures

Those passengers that are flying are being looked after by “near-hospital theatre levels of cleanliness” as well as physical distancing and insistence on mask wearing.

Technology is also helping stop the spread of germs, with the acceleration of contactless check-in and immigration arrangements.

When it comes to the rules, passengers are “adhering extremely well, because we make sure they adhere to them”, Mr Griffiths says.

“We’ve got a very, very close eye on them: 6,000 CCTV cameras watch the passenger flow, because obviously, we’ve got to keep everything moving, to keep everything safe and secure.”

If international air travel is to get moving again, “it’s up to the countries to decide what the entry requirements are, and it’s up to the airlines and the airports around the world to enforce it”, says Mr Griffiths.

“If this all works, and everyone comes together, vaccine passports will be a very, very simple way of us travelling without documents around the world.”

The coronavirus pandemic has wrought devastation on India, with 22.66 million cases and 246,116 deaths reported so far. Experts say actual numbers could be five to 10 times higher, and citizens across the country are struggling to find hospital beds, oxygen, or medicines, leaving many to die for lack of treatment.

In the state of Gujarat in western India, some believers have been going to cow shelters once a week to cover their bodies in cow dung and urine in the hope it will boost their immunity against, or help them recover from, the coronavirus.

In Hinduism, the cow is a sacred symbol of life and the earth, and for centuries Hindus have used cow dung to clean their homes and for prayer rituals, believing it has therapeutic and antiseptic properties.

“We see … even doctors come here. Their belief is that this therapy improves their immunity and they can go and tend to patients with no fear,” said Gautam Manilal Borisa, an associate manager at a pharmaceuticals company, who said the practice helped him recover from COVID-19 last year.

He has since been a regular at the Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul Vishwavidya Pratishthanam, a school run by Hindu monks that lies just across the road from the Indian headquarters of Zydus Cadila (CADI.NS), which is developing its own COVID-19 vaccine.

As participants wait for the dung and urine mixture on their bodies to dry, they hug or honour the cows at the shelter, and practice yoga to boost energy levels. The packs are then washed off with milk or buttermilk.

Doctors and scientists in India and across the world have repeatedly warned against practising alternative treatments for COVID-19, saying they can lead to a false sense of security and complicate health problems.

“There is no concrete scientific evidence that cow dung or urine work to boost immunity against COVID-19, it is based entirely on belief,” said Dr JA Jayalal, national president at the Indian Medical Association.

“There are also health risks involved in smearing or consuming these products – other diseases can spread from the animal to humans.”

There are also concerns the practice could contribute to the spread of the virus as it involved people gathering in groups. Madhucharan Das, in charge of another cow shelter in Ahmedabad, said they were limiting the number of participants.

Dr Michael Owusu has observed that many have relaxed in observing the safety protocols, especially the wearing of facemasks, a situation he says could prove dire if any of the new Covid-19 variants were imported into the country.

Countries like the United Kingdom and India have been hit by a strong new variant, causing mass hospitalization and deaths.

Dr Owusu has warned that Ghanaians could not continue to be apathetic towards Covid-19 protocols when the  B1617 Covid-19 variant, which has the same transmissibility as B117 discovered in the United Kingdom, continue to lurk around.

India is having  B1617. That one has the same transmissibility as B117 and because the behaviour of this one and the variant in the UK are very similar, it is highly likely that if it enters any country, it is going to take that country into the third wave,” he warned.

He cautioned that Ghana, which has been receiving visitors from all over the world may have the best measures at the airport but a slip of a single case from India may prove too expensive.

He wants the public to be wary of developments in India after that Asian country was hit by a wild Covid-19 strain.

For such a highly populated country, it means whatever they have, once they move and travel out of the country, everywhere they go, they are likely to see that country with this variant we have.”

He continued: “When people are not behaving well and you even have one person who slips through here at the airport, that person can easily infect many people and that can contribute to a third wave. I mean we’ve seen the churches that have these mass gatherings.

“If you have one person slip into that place, you will not be a prophet to tell that this will lead to the next wave that we are talking about.”

According to Dr Owusu, it was time the police and other security agencies tasked to enforce all Covid-19 safety protocols did so, adding Ghana cannot afford to be at the same level as India currently.

“We are happy that there is a law in place, but then the implementation and execution and ensuring people are arrested are also other problems.

“We have to ensure that people do what is right; one is the education as what we are doing, and two, we have to continue to enforce the law. For those who flout the law, they should be arrested, and those who don’t put on their masks should be prosecuted”.

“We must revisit what we did before and ensure that people do what they are supposed to do so that we don’t put the country in a difficulty like India is facing now with so many deaths. We don’t want to see that in Ghana.”

The death toll as of Monday, April 5, 2021 stood at 752.

An update from the Ghana Health Service (GHS) indicated that the country has recorded 84 new cases, bringing the cumulative number of cases to 91,477.

The number of active cases is now 1,413.

According to the update, a total of 742,349 Ghanaians have been vaccinated across the country.

The number of persons who have recovered/discharged is 89,301 with 27 persons in severe condition and 10 others in critical condition.

Out of 220,230 tests conducted on international travelers at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA), 1,397 have tested positive from the illness representing 0.6 per cent of the positivity rate.

The Greater Accra Region still leads with the highest number of active cases with 900 infections, followed by the Ashanti Region 126 infections, then Central Region with 78 infections, and Western Region with 61 infections.

Meanwhile, the Upper West Region has only two active cases.

The Greater Accra Region still leads with the highest number of active cases with 900 infections, followed by the Ashanti Region 126 infections, then Central Region with 78 infections, and Western Region with 61 infections.

Meanwhile, the Upper West Region has only two active cases.

According to him, the government has opened many places of work and worship and can’t continue to keep churches closed.

“I really think that it is long overdue because you see if we are able to have 275 of them sit in parliament, and say that they are able to follow covid protocols, and there is no cause for alarm or whatsoever, we should be able to do same for the cinema.”

He added that, unlike parliament, people do not have to talk in cinemas, adding the people will also easily follow the Covid protocols including the wearing of masks.

“In the cinema, you clap, you laugh, you cry, you are out, it is that simple. It is possible to be in a cinema and watch an entire film with a nose mask on.”

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The filmmaker added that if government trusts children to go to school daily and adhere to the Covid protocols, they can trust adults will do exactly that when they visit the cinemas.

“The cinema is an enclosed space but how many of the churches we have in this country are in open-air spaces? But they are all working graciously and adhering to protocols,

“So if bankers can work and people from all walks of life can go to the banks wear their nose maks do their transactions and leave why can’t they walk into the cinema watch the movie and leave.

“Cinema is even a place where the crowd can be controlled. If you enter it is strictly by ticketing. It is a highly controlled environment,” the CEO of Kofas Media said.

Pandemic-related hotel closures in the southeastern city of Belo Horizonte have forced thousands of prostitutes to solicit for clients on the street, they say.

“We are in the front line, moving the economy and we are at risk,” Cida Vieira, president of the Association of Prostitutes of Mins Gerais state, told AFP news agency.

“We need to get vaccinated.”

Vieira and other women held a protest on Monday in a street lined with shuttered hotels where they used to work, waving placards bearing messages like ‘Sex workers are health professionals too’ and ‘Sex workers are a priority group.

“We are part of the priority group because we deal with various types of people and our lives are at risk, said Lucimara Costa,” one of the sex workers protesting said..

“We are a priority group, we are health educators, peer educators. We form part of that group, since we give information about STIs for men, distribute condoms…’ said Vieira.

The Brazilian government has prioritised health workers, teachers, the elderly, indigenous people and people with underlying health conditions for the first round of vaccinations.

It hopes to vaccinate these priority groups, some 77 million people, in the first half of 2021, but experts say the process may drag into September due to a shortage of doses.

Like the rest of Brazil, Minas Gerais state has been battling a second pandemic wave, but the number of deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, at 121, is among the lowest in the country.

The Covid-19 pandemic has claimed more than 332,000 lives in Brazil, a toll second only to the United States.

On Tuesday, Brazil recorded 86,979 new cases.

For the first time, more than 4,000 deaths were recorded in a single day with 4,195 reported.

The broadcaster is to pay £125,000 (N65.6m) for broadcasting claims that were “inaccurate and potentially harmful.”

The TV station was found to have breached broadcasting rules in January during its 29-hour show titled ‘The Global Day of Prayer’ aired in 2020. The station was previously sanctioned in May 2020.

Many of the claims were “unsupported by any factual evidence and went entirely without challenge,” the watchdog said on Wednesday.

“Loveworld’s failure to put these unsubstantiated statements into context risked serious harm to its audience,” Ofcom said in a statement.

“They had the potential to undermine confidence in public health measures put in place to tackle Covid-19 – at a time when cases, hospital admissions and deaths were rising in the UK, and when people were looking for reliable information given advances in the vaccination programme.”

Loveworld was accused of featuring sermons rife with claims that the virus was “planned” by the “deep state” and that the vaccination drives that trailed the pandemic were a way of injecting people with nanochips to control them.

In another section of the show, a presenter insisted that 5G technology was linked to the virus outbreak and claimed that 5G was poisoning cells in the human body.

“With the classification of a weapon, 5G technology is very dangerous. When it comes into contact with a human body it can provide some poisons to the cells … This shows that what’s killing people, it’s not coronavirus, but 5G,” a presenter on the programme said.

In January, the broadcast regulator said it is fundamental to start “legitimate debate about the official response to the coronavirus pandemic” to hold “public authorities to account during a global health crisis – particularly when public freedoms are curtailed and complex policy decisions are taken.”

It, however, said Loveworld’s failure to put these unsubstantiated statements into context risked serious harm to its audience.

Pastor Oyakhilome, the founder of Believers LoveWorld Assembly and the LoveWorld TV is quite popular in Nigeria, where his claims about coronavirus virus and 5G gained social media traction in April 2020.

His megachurch in Lagos hosts about 30, 000 attendants on Sundays and has millions of followers on social media and YouTube, where his videos have enjoyed millions of views.

He is one of the very vocal purveyors of conspiracy theories about the coronavirus in the country.

He recently shifted focus to the vaccination drive in the country. In a video released on Monday, pastor Oyakhilome blasted Christians who have taken the vaccine and questioned their faith in god.

“How can they send to the churches? Go tell them to take the vaccines. Listen, if I say to someone, you shall live but not die, that’s it to him,” he said in the viral video. “Isn’t that the Bible that you read? Isn’t that the scripture that you read? Where is your God of Elijah, your God of Moses, your God of Peter, James and John? What’s the matter with you?”

In view of this, it expects all persons to strictly adhere to all restrictions imposed by the president.

The service, among other things, has urged religious bodies to comply with the two-hour church service directives but with no crusades and conventions.

The beaches remain closed with the holding of amusement events and other street carnivals also prohibited.

With the festivities to be marked from Friday, April 2, to Monday, April 5, 2021, the outfit has, however, assured of maximum security.

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These were announced in a statement signed by the Director of Public Affairs, Supt Sheilla Kessie Abayie-Buckman.

Read the full statement below:

Photos that display the COVID-19 vaccination card like a badge of honor have been making the rounds on social media for months, but the card is more than fodder for selfies, it could be your ticket to freedom in the coming months — so it should be protected as such.

The precious paper card contains vital information including the brand of vaccine you received and the dates you were immunised. According to public health experts, it’s crucial to keep that information handy in case you need it to prove your vaccination status, or to streamline possible future booster shots.

Vaccination records can likely eventually be replaced if they are lost or damaged, but it is especially important to take good care of your vaccination records during this pandemic when the country’s healthcare systems are stretched thin.

“A vaccination card is a tool that people can use to declare that they have some level of protection against COVID,” said John Brownstein, Ph.D., an ABC News contributor and epidemiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital. “Being able to assess immunity to COVID is a critical part of trying to resume our daily lives.”

“What these little cards have the potential to do is to make something like international travel easier by avoiding requirements for quarantine or testing,” Amesh Adalja, M.D., FIDSA, an infectious disease specialist and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security, told ABC News.

The logistics around how a “vaccine passport” would work are still up for discussion. “Nothing has been put into place yet,” said Adalja.

Even so, the COVID vaccination card is hardly the first of its kind. Some countries, for example, require proof of vaccination for yellow fever, and many public and private schools require that the children enrolled be fully vaccinated.

All vaccinations administered in the U.S. should have a paper trail, but if your vaccine card can help you navigate through our new normal, you may want to treat it with care.

Below, our specialists answer common questions about the COVID-19 vaccination card and how it may be utilised moving forward:

Why is it important to keep your vaccination card?

“It’s important for people to have a record of which vaccine they received and when they got their shots,” Dr Krutika Kuppalli, vice-chair of the Infectious Diseases Society of America’s global health committee and an emerging leader in biosecurity at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told ABC News. “It’s your proof that you got your vaccine.”

Although vaccine studies are still ongoing, the vaccine brand and lot number in your card may be relevant when the time comes for a booster dose, she said.

“Whether it’s school, entertainment venues or travel, there’s going to be an expectation that to resume these activities you have to be retested and enter quarantine or produce proof of immunisation,” said Brownstein.

What if I lose my card?

It is possible to get a duplicate blank card, but you’ll need to fill it out with your vaccination information. Luckily, both the facility and the state where you received your vaccine should keep those records.

According to Adalja, “you should go back to where you got vaccinated,” and if that doesn’t work, you have another option: call your state’s department of health, which also keeps a record.

Every state has an immunisation database, explained Kuppalli, but that data is not shared across state lines.

Some national chains, like CVS and Walgreens, also promise to have apps that show vaccination records if you received your vaccines with them.

This will be between Friday, March 26 and Saturday, March 27, 2021, as part of measures by the Ghana Health Service to fumigate health facilities.

The affected units will include the Laboratory, Pathology, Out-Patient Department, Administration, Pediatrics, Pharmacy, dental, radiology, medical records and Quartermaster stores.

This was announced in a statement signed by the Head of Public Affairs Unit, DSP Yaw Nketia which added the units will be opened for business on Sunday, March 28.

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Read the full statement below:

As a physician that consults at the Lekma Hospital, I joined the queue on the first day of the national exercise of deploying the vaccines.

I belong to the first group of citizens eligible to take the vaccine due to my health worker status. Other genres of citizens like the elderly ( 60+ years) and those with underlying conditions joined the queue on the first day.

After a week of vaccination, about 210,000 Ghanaians have embraced the opportunity to get vaccinated.

Unfortunately, there are still those who keep asking the question- should I wait for some time to see what happens to those going for the vaccines or just go for the vaccine now?

The AstraZeneca vaccine has gone through all the three necessary Clinical trials that must be conducted before giving it to people in any country.

Tens of thousands of participants took part in the phase three trials which were carried out to find out how effective the vaccines are in protecting the population against COVID-19 infection as well as COVID 19 related severe illness and death. AstraZeneca has an efficacy of about 70%.

This efficacy only speaks to the protection the vaccine gives from contracting COVID-19. That is to say if 100 people get vaccinated, 70 of them will not get COVID 19 at all.

The rest of the 30 can get COVID-19. Just ending here on the efficacy information leaves out two critical benefits that the vaccine provides; two benefits that have been established in clinical trials across different countries and have actually been confirmed in countries like the UK where more than 21 million have been vaccinated.

Taking the vaccine protects you from severe and critical disease should you find yourself in the minority who can get COVID 19 despite vaccination.

What it means is that you are saved from hospitalization and more importantly COVID-19 related death with the vaccine.

AstraZeneca vaccines might have an average of 70% efficacy against COVID-19 but its protection against severe illness from COVID-19 is over 85%, with protection from death nearing 99%.

The Pfizer vaccine produced in the US may have an efficacy of 94% similar to the Moderna vaccine but the good news is that both of them give you virtually the same result from AstraZeneca when it comes to preventing severe illness and death.

The Johnson and Johnson Johnson vaccine that recently got Emergency Use Authorization has an average efficacy of 70% like the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The phase three clinical trials done in South Africa with this Johnson and Johnson vaccine showed that rate of hospitalization fell drastically in those who got the vaccine compared to those who didn’t receive the vaccine.

No deaths were recorded in those who got the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

This information from the studies on the Johnson and Johnson vaccine validates one truth- WHICH IS – IT IS SMARTER TO GET THE VACCINE, IRRESPECTIVE OF WHICH BRAND, WHEN AVAILABLE THAN TO WAIT.

I know that in Ghana 85 out of hundred people who get COVID-19 will have only mild to moderate disease and these statistics has undoubtedly emboldened some people to say “let me just wait and watch”, with the thinking that should they even get the virus, they will be part of the 85% who do not experience severe disease.

A relative of mine got COVID-19 and experienced severe illness that could have killed him. He got it from a family member who only experienced mild symptoms when she had it.

The lesson is that should you avoid the vaccine with the thinking that you will be ok even in case of an infection, you can serve as a carrier who passes on the virus to other friends and family who might get severely ill and die.

So getting vaccinated doesn’t only protect you, it protects those you relate too by breaking the transmission chain.

I am vaccinated now so should I come across a COVID positive person who brings the virus in contact with me, two things can happen; either my vaccine acquired immunity stops the virus from infecting me or gets into my system but is unable to overwhelm me and land me at the hospital.

Since over 70 out of 100 who get the vaccine are protected from COVID infection, those people serve as barriers that break the transmission chain. When a virus gets to them, it ends there and doesn’t get passed on to the next.

So vaccination achieves a reduction in the transmission rates, infection rates, hospitalization rates, mortality rates and eventually will bring the pandemic to a stop.

The deployment of VACCINES signals the beginning of the end of the Pandemic.

What will make this end-stage shorter and less fatal is continued adherence to the mask-wearing and handwashing protocols since these protocols serve as an extranet catching the few viral strains that escape the wall of protection provided by the Vaccines.

It is the objective of Ghana’s government to complete this end stage of the pandemic by December 2021.

Hopefully, by this time, over 20 million Ghanaians will have been vaccinated and the transmission rate for COVID 19 will have neared zero.

I know the rollout of the vaccine will save us many more deaths in this end-stage but if we want to experience very low mortality or better still avoid any deaths at all , the mask-wearing protocols must be adhered to so that this last episode of the pandemic is made short and less deadly.

It does not take AstraZeneca or Pfizer or Moderna in particular to achieve a COVID pandemic free world.

Any of the approved vaccines will protect you from the Pandemic, keep you away from the ICU, save you from death and significantly slow down infections rates till elimination of the disease is achieved nationally.

I predict that this pandemic will end with this calendar year, 2021. This prediction can only be true if you take the vaccine and wear the mask.

Let’s help to make the prediction true because we can’t afford to have our cinemas closed and our hospitality sector on its knees in 2022.

We can’t afford not to hug our loved ones in 2022.

I guess the answer to waiting for some time or not before getting the vaccine is obvious now. Not a smart move to wait, it can turn out to be suicidal.

By: Dr Okoe Boye
A Former Deputy Minister of Health

According to him, taking the vaccine does not imply a lack of faith.

Archbishop Duncan-Williams, not long ago, explained that his decision to wear double nose masks as a man of God was an act of wisdom and common sense.

Read his post below:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nicholas Duncan-Williams (@archbishopnick)

According to the legislator, he tested positive for the virus a week after the January 7 inauguration of 8th Parliament.

He disclosed that in his case, he battled with the virus for about a month with his condition deteriorating even more due to post-Covid-19 complications. 

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the commissioning of a health facility at Wumenu, he said he did not experience a rise in temperature and did not also cough.

The MP said he only felt unwell for a few days after the inauguration.

He added that his health kept deteriorating though he had taken some medications, hence his decision to act on a friend’s advice to take the Covid-19 test.

“We did it and I tested positive. I decided to go and sleep and report to the hospital the following day but about at 6:00 pm, I realised my breath was getting short, so they took me straight to the Ghana Infection Centre,” he narrated.

Mr Agbodza explained that he had to be placed on oxygen, amid other medications and the health workers did everything possible to stabilise him.

He was eventually discharged when he tested negative after being admitted for a period of time.

Unfortunately for him, he suffered a post-Covid-19 complication.

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“I tested negative so I was discharged, I went home late afternoon. In the night, I felt like urinating but couldn’t stand on my legs. Apparently, I had a post-Covid complication which made my legs numb [and] I couldn’t move them,” he explained.

Mr Agbodza said he was paralysed and could not do anything on his own for about two weeks. He had to be supported by his relatives to do virtually everything.

“It took hard work and very diligent healthcare practitioners to be able to help me with medication and psychotherapy. I only started walking two weeks ago,” he said.

Mr Agbodza, therefore, seized the opportunity to advise his constituents and the citizenry to strictly observe the safety protocols and get vaccinated to safeguard their lives. 

According to them, they aren’t sick and as such, see no need in taking a vaccine when they are not infected by the Coronavirus disease.

In an interview with Adom News, one of the drivers said the locally-brewed gin, Akpeteshie had the efficacy to prevent Covid-19 infection hence that is what he will drink.

‘Akpeteshie’ [homebrewed alcoholic beverage] is 100 per cent alcohol… that is all I will drink. I will never take the vaccine! He told Adom News.

Others also said they would rather die a natural death than inject the vaccine.

I will not take the vaccine. Even in the bible, God created death for man… …so death has its positive side, so if I die by not taking it, it is nothing. I will not inject it, one of the drivers chipped in.

Those who have the sickness deserve it the more. I don’t have the sickness so why should I inject…, another said.

Watch the video below:

Meanwhile, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has commended President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for taking the first dose of the 600,000 Covid-19 vaccines that have arrived in the country.

“We commend H.E. Nana Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana, and H.E. the First Lady, Madam Rebecca Akufo-Addo, for leading by example and receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

“As H.E. Nana Akufo-Addo said, ‘it is important that I set the example to show you that the vaccine is safe’,” UNICEF wrote in a social media post.

The number of active cases, which stood at 6,614 as of February 20, 2021, has decreased to 6,404 on February 21, 2021; out of which 88 were severe and 29 critical.

The country has also recorded 428 new cases bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases to 81,673.

The update from GHS indicated that four more people have died, increasing the death toll to 588.

It also said the number of persons who have recovered/discharged from the disease is now 74, 681.

Regional Breakdown

The Greater Accra Region still leads with the highest case count of 46,587 followed by Ashanti Region with 14,195, Western and Eastern having 4,981 and 3,613 respectively.

Meanwhile, the Savanna Region has recorded the lowest case count of 72 infections.

Greater Accra Region – 46,587

Ashanti Region – 14,195

Western Region – 4,981

Eastern Region – 3,613

Central Region – 2,870

Volta Region – 1,652

Northern Region – 1,131

Bono East Region – 1,099

Upper East Region – 1,093

Bono Region – 958

Western North Region – 797

Ahafo Region – 663

Upper West Region – 377

Oti Region – 272

North East Region – 98

Savannah Region – 72

His mother, Miguelina Eloi Assis dos Santos, passed away on Saturday, February 20, in Porto Alegre, Brazil, from Covid-19 complications. She had been hospitalised since December 2020 after having been infected with Coronavirus.

On Tuesday night, February 23, Ronaldinho sent a message via his Instagram account to thank fans and friends for their show of support following the news of his mother’s death.

“My family and I thank you all for the love and support we are receiving at this difficult time. My mother was an inspiration of strength and joy to all who knew her and will continue to exert her light in our lives forever. With the strength she taught us, we will continue our journey. Thank you,” he wrote in his post accompanied with an image of him hugging his mother.

Below is his post on IG:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (@ronaldinho)

The church, in a communiqué signed by its Chairman, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, said it is obvious that the conspiracy theories cannot be “substantiated and are not sustainable”

The church also cautioned their ministers, officers and members to avoid using the platforms of the church to fuel and promote myths, controversies and falsehood to misinform people and members on the usefulness and benefit of COVID-19 vaccines.

It, however, noted that its position does not in any way take away the right of individual members to either accept or refuse a vaccine based on their own personal reasons.

The church also urged its members to be wary of depending solely on social media for information, especially about the vaccines as it is saturated with false information.

Read a copy of the statement below:

The cases were not recorded in school but in the respective homes of the infected pupils and students. The infected students have been isolated and currently receiving treatment at home.

The Municipal Health Director for Tarkwa-Nsuaem, Caroline Effah Otoo, disclosed this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Tarkwa.

According to her, no death has been recorded so far, adding that the patients were responding to treatment.

“The pupils and students, who tested positive, were contacts of their parents who had earlier been confirmed positive of Covid-19, hence they had the infection from their families and not in school,” Mrs Otoo explained.

She noted that they would stay at home for two weeks before returning to school.

The Municipal Health Director for Tarkwa-Nsuaem advised parents to get the right face mask for their wards and ensure they were worn properly to reduce the spread of the virus.

According to the Ghana Health Service, the country has recorded 7,931 active cases, with 565 deaths, 69,775 recoveries out of the 78,271 infections recorded so far.

This comes on the back of about 80 positive cases recorded in the school after three weeks of reopening.

The Volta River Authority (VRA) announced the development in a press statement as part of its update on screening in the school.

The statement noted all staff and students have been screened with all positive persons doing well under the management and treatment of the VRA medical team.

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They have called for calm among parents and the general public with assurance of a periodic update on the situation.

They have discovered a virus that is a close match to the virus that causes Covid-19 in bats at a wildlife sanctuary in eastern Thailand.

And they predict that similar coronaviruses may be present in bats across many Asian nations and regions.

The discovery extends the area in which related viruses have been found to a distance of 4,800km (2,983 miles).

And it gives clues to how Covid-19 might have emerged.

The researchers said sampling was limited, but they were confident that coronaviruses “with a high degree of genetic relatedness to Sars-CoV-2 are widely present in bats across many nations and regions in Asia”.

The area includes Japan, China and Thailand, the researchers said in a report published in Nature Communications.

Past studies have suggested that Sars-CoV-2 emerged in an animal, most likely a bat, before spreading to humans.

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The precise origins of the virus are unknown and have been investigated by a team commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO).

In the latest research, a team lead by Lin-Fa Wang of the University of Singapore detected a close relative of Sars-CoV-2 in horseshoe bats kept in an artificial cave at a wildlife sanctuary in Thailand.

The virus, named RacCS203, is a close match to the genetic code of Sars-CoV-2 (with 91.5% similarity in their genomes).

It is also closely related to another coronavirus – called RmYN02 – which is found in bats in Yunnan, China (with 93.6% similarity to the genome of Sars-CoV-2).

“We need to do more surveillance in animals,” said Prof Wang. “In order to find the true origin, the surveillance work needs to go beyond the border of China.”

One big concern is the ability of coronaviruses to move between different mammals, for example cats, dogs and minks.

By moving between species, the virus can mutate and evolve into a new pathogen, which could explain how Covid-19 emerged.

Dr Thiravat Hemachudha of Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, was part of the team of international researchers.

The viruses found in bats in Thailand and China act as “a perfect template that can recombine with others and eventually evolve as new emerging pathogen(s), Covid-19 virus as one”, he said.

The researchers also examined antibodies in bats and a trafficked pangolin seized in southern Thailand.

The antibodies were able to neutralise the pandemic virus, which is further evidence that Sars-CoV-2-related coronaviruses are circulating in Southeast Asia, they said.

Commenting, Prof Martin Hibberd of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said the findings highlighted the broad distribution of bats and viruses that may include the originator of the current outbreak.

“Further work is required to understand how Sars-CoV-2 passed from animals to humans, with the recent WHO investigators in Wuhan showing that as of yet, these is no conclusive evidence of how this happened,” he said.

Mr Forson, who started noticing symptoms after attending a wedding on November 30 last year, said it started with a mild cough and got so intense that his lungs felt sore.

“The next day I was coughing like 30 to 40 times within a minute. I started feeling the pain in my lungs. I coughed to the point where my lungs were sore and I was like no, there’s something really wrong,” he explained.

Sharing his ordeal on JoyNews‘ PM:Express Tuesday, the host of Joy FM’s ‘Ignition’ cited what in his opinion was the worst of his symptoms being the shortness of breath.

“It felt like somebody standing on your chest and a basic thing like just moving from the bedroom from the bathroom to pee will take me about 30 to 45 minutes because the moment I get out of bed and I stand up, then I start feeling like I have been running for like 30 minutes,” he narrated.

The survivor told host Evans Mensah that he saw a doctor and got assessed for malaria, typhoid among other ailments all of which returned negative.

According to him, coupled with the help of doctors he adopted unorthodox local remedies which brought him relief until he made a full recovery.

“What really helped me was the local remedy. I had to be introduced to inhalation with neem tree and methal crystals. That really helped me a lot,” he added.