GHANA SAYS 2,000 HEALTH WORKERS INFECTED BY VIRUS

"The total number of health workers infected is 2,065," Patrick Kumah-Aboagye, the director general of the country's health service, said.

FILE: A man walks with a face mask at the Kantamanto market after the partial lockdown in parts of Ghana to halt the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus was lifted in Accra, Ghana on 20 April 2020. Picture: AFP

AFP

ACCRA - Over 2,000 health workers in Ghana have contracted coronavirus since the outbreak of the pandemic in the West African nation, the authorities have said.

"The total number of health workers infected is 2,065," Patrick Kumah-Aboagye, the director general of the country's health service, said Thursday.

"Out of that number, 1,870 have recovered and 183 are in isolation centres or undergoing treatment at home."

So far only six health workers are reported to have died from the virus, he said.

Ghana - which boasts one of the region's best testing rates - has reported more than 26,000 infections, of which 139 have been fatal.

The country's main medical union in April complained about shortages of protective equipment and poor distribution to medics.

Kumah-Aboagye insisted that "of late, the number of health worker infections has significantly come down" as supplies of kit and training improved.

The government has also provided tax breaks and other financial incentives for doctors and nurses on the front line.