The Government of Ghana has so far spent $35 million on testing 346,990 COVID-19 suspected cases.
The amount is not part of the expenditure on the expansion of testing capacity.
A Deputy Minister for Health, Dr Bernard Okoe Boye, who represented his boss, revealed this when he updated Parliament on Ghana’s COVID-19 situation on Monday.
He said the cost of one Polymerise Chain Reaction (PCR) test on average is US$100 for a suspected case.
Dr Okoe Boye explained that the PCR tests are used to detect the genetic information of the virus and also gives an indication of the person who is infected with the disease.
He said Ghana has done 346,990 tests with a positivity rate of 7.9 percent.
He said the number of tests done per a million of a country’s population gives an indication of the commitment of the country towards fighting the pandemic.
Dr Okoe Boye who is also the MP for Ledzokuku said the higher the test per a million population, the more reliable the picture paints for that country.
He stated that Ghana’s total case count as of July 16, 2020, stood at 27,667, with 148 deaths, 23,249 recoveries with an active case count standing at 4,270.
Dr Okoe Boye said Ghana’s mortality rate deducing from the statistics was 0.5 percent, meaning for every 1,000 cases of COVID-19, Ghana could record five deaths.
However, Ghana’s COVID-19 death rate remains one of the lowest in the world, adding that the more efficient management of COVID-19 in a country, the lower the mortality rate.
Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale Central Alhaji Inusah Fuseini in a remark charged Ghanaians to interrogate government for its handling of the pandemic since the disease does not discriminate in terms of one’s party colour, affiliation, and economic status.
“Ghanaians have a responsibility to interrogate what government is doing because COVID-19 does not attack as a result of one’s party colour, affiliation and economic status,” he added.
He urged the citizens to hold government accountable in terms of monies approved by the legislature to help fight the disease.
