All shops and stores within Obuasi in the Ashanti Region will from today Friday, May 8, be closed down until further notice.

This is to allow authorities to execute a planned shift system as Covid-19 cases surge in the mining town.

In a statement issued after a joint meeting between the Obuasi and the Obuasi East Municipal Assembly on Wednesday, May 6, hawkers will not be allowed to operate in the Central Business District during the period.

“Management will supply market operators and traders with identification cards to determine their turn on the shift system”, the statement further explained.

Other Measures

Outlining other measures to prevent the spread of the virus in both Municipalities, authorities noted that all Covid-19 safety protocols will strictly be enforced.

For instance, the statement said all identifiable drinking spots and bars have been banned from operating, adding that the ban on gaming centers remain unchanged.

It further directed all public and private institutions to insist with the wearing of nose masks as it begins to enforce the ‘No Mask, No entry‘ policy.

“This applies to food vendors, water vendors, fruit sellers, waiters and waitresses etc.”

Obuasi records highest COVID-19 cases in Ashanti

Authorities confirmed on Thursday that Obuasi has recorded the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the Ashanti Region.

Both the Obuasi and Obuasi East Municipalities have registered 48 cases of the disease as at Wednesday, May 6, 2020. 17 of the 43 districts in the Region have so far recorded cases of the disease.

The Ashanti Region has a total of 163 confirmed Coronavirus cases out of which 47 of the people who tested positive were from Obuasi.

A further breakdown of the state of the pandemic in the region shows that 56 per cent of the affected persons are males while the remaining 44 per cent are females.

Authorities at the Regional Directorate of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) say most of the people who have tested positive for COVID-19 in the region are between the ages of 20 and 29.

At a news conference, the Regional Director, Dr. Emmanuel Tenkorang said plans are advanced to increase the number of testing laboratories to complement efforts of the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR).

“So far, 17 out of our 43 districts have reported cases. 56 per cent of the 163 were males and 44 per cent are females. The youngest case that we have had here is 10 years old and the oldest 83 years. 37 people have so far recovered and three are currently on admission. The number of contacts that we are actively following as of now is 54,” he said.

“So far, KCCR has tested 41, 986 samples. It is our plan to decentralize the labs. Apart from KCCR, we are also working with the Ghana Health Service to set up at least two labs in addition to the KCCR lab. One will be based in our public health reference lab in Kumasi South. We are also talking to the Komfo Ankoye Hospital whether we can use their labs. There are other facilities that we can put in shape so that the testing goes faster. So far, that has been our major bottleneck as far as our COVID-19 fight is concerned”, he added.