90% of SHSs connected to free Wi-Fi – Ursula
Ghana’s Minister-designate of Communication and digitalisation, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has announced that 90 per cent of Senior High Schools in the country have been connected to free Wi-Fi. The challenge now, according to Mrs Owusu-Ekuful, is “how to replicate that in the junior high schools as the Education Ministry seeks to introduce blended learning (a mixture of virtual learning and face to face) and, so, we will need to put in place the infrastructure to support such. It is one of our priority areas.” The Ablekuma West MP disclosed this when she appeared before Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Monday, 15 February 2021 and reiterated same in a Facebook post. Speaking at the opening of the government’s free tertiary Wi-Fi project in Accra in November 2020, Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia noted that all 260 District Education Offices and 46 Colleges of Education in the country will also be beneficiaries of the government’s ‘free Wi-Fi for schools’ project. The project is intended to broaden the scope of education, Information, Communication and Technology (ICT), research, and knowledge acquisition in schools. ClassFMonline Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: +233555568093
COVID-19: Akufo-Addo suspends Independence Day celebrations nationwide
President Akufo-Addo has suspended the mounting of parades as part of activities to mark Ghana’s 64th Independence Day celebration. According to a Ghana Education Service (GES) memo sighted by Citi News, the directive came in a letter to GES from the Presidency on February 11. The directive is in line with presidential measures of avoiding large gatherings as the country continues to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. To this end, all Metropolitan, Municipal and District Education Directors and Heads of all schools have, through their Regional Education Directors, been asked to comply with the directive. “Management of the Ghana Education Service wishes to inform all Regions that the 64th Independence Anniversary Parade on the 6th March 2021 has been suspended forthwith across the country,” GES noted in the memo. GES said the decision was given in a letter from the Office of the Chief of Staff at the Presidency directing for the suspension of this year’s independence celebration and all its related activities nationwide due to the high prevalence rate of COVID-19 cases in the country. The 6th March parade by school children all over the country is normally a feature of Ghana’s Independence Day celebrations. President Akufo-Addo recently reimposed the ban on public gatherings as part of measures to contain the rise in COVID-19 cases in Ghana. He said the ban was until further notice warning that anyone found breaking the new directive will be severely dealt with. Ghana’s active cases of Coronavirus as of today, Monday, February 15, 2021, are 7,850 after 656 new infections. Greater Accra, Ashanti and Eastern Regions continue to lead the chart of areas with a high number of cases. Citinewsroom Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: +233555568093
NIB arrests mathematical sets supplier after Opoku Prempeh’s vetting
The National Investigative Bureau (NIB) has arrested the CEO of the Bluegrass Group Ltd, Kwadwo Darko-Mensah, also known as Onasis. According to reports, the suspect is to assist in an ongoing investigation in regards to the procurement of some 853,000 pieces of mathematical sets. Mr Darko-Mensah is said to be a local agent of an international company, Cornfield Group Ltd which was mandated to deliver a total of 853,000 pieces of math sets at a cost of ¢75 per unit. The contract which was awarded by the Education Ministry in September 2019 failed to pull through when the products were neither delivered on schedule or in full. Local online portal, Mynewsgh, reported that 853,000 mathematical sets were supposed to be given to students siting for the 2020 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). However, due to the WASSCE timeline, the contract was treated as “urgent” and sole-sourced in September 2019 to Mr Darko-Mensah’s company without any form of bidding. The Bluegrass Limited was also granted a free tax waiver of $3.6 million by the government on the recommendation of the then Education Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh and was subsequently approved by Parliament. But further investigations revealed that, no 2020 WASSCE student received any mathematical set from government. An independent policy and research institute, the Institute for Education Studies (IFEST) then questioned government why the mathematical sets which were sole-sourced at a “high price” were never delivered on time for the very purpose it was tagged as “urgent”. The Institute also criticised the validity of the sole sourcing procedure adopted. At ¢75 per mathematical set, the total contract came to ¢63,975,675. Yet, Blueglass Limited failed to deliver within the agreed time. Blueglass Limited was said to have later issued PR-statements, announcing it had delivered “first consignment” without stating any figure, even long after the WASSCE was over. Vetting Opoku Prempeh on Bluegrass Ltd Being nominated by President Akufo-Addo for the Energy Ministry, Dr Opoku-Prempeh appeared before, Parliament’s Appointments Committee for vetting on Friday. When queried on the issue of the Mathematical sets contract and the arrest and detention of CEO of Bluegrass Ltd Kwadwo Darko-Mensah, the then Education Minister said, “I didn’t know him from anywhere.” Myjoyonline Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: +233555568093
Ghana Water Company starts distribution of water bills to customers using more than five cubic metres
Customers of Ghana Water Company in the Upper East Region have started receiving their January water bill for onward payment. The President in his 21st address to the nation said, “With the continuing difficulties occasioned by the pandemic, I want to state that government intends to continue to support the most vulnerable in our society. “Government will, thus, continue to pay the electricity bills for our nation’s one million active lifeline customers for the next three months, i.e. January, February “Additionally, all one million, five hundred thousand customers of the Ghana Water Company, whose consumption is not more than five cubic metres a month, will not pay any bills for the next three months, i.e. for the months of January, February and March.” However, according to the Ghana water company official who was going distributing the bills he said, this time when you consume 5000 litres in a month you won’t pay but, if you consume above 5000 litres, you have to pay. He told anxious customers. However, the step is part of the government’s continuous dedication to shield Ghanaians from the harsh effects of the coronavirus. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093+
Positive covid-19 cases of MPs rise to 17
So far, 17 Members of Parliament (MPs) have tested positive for Coronavirus. This was after 15 MPs tested positive to the virus last week. Additionally, about 151 parliamentary staff have tested positive for Coronavirus. The development has resulted in the suspension of Parliament for at least three weeks. As a way of preventing further spread of Coronavirus, a fumigation exercise is expected to take place at Job 600. The Speaker of the House, Alban Bagbin, has again recommended that all MPs get tested for Coronavirus. The country’s active Covid19 cases stand at 6,938. The deaths linked to the virus have increased to 482. The cumulative case count has risen to 73,003. Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
Send lower primary school children home to help curb spread – Virologist
As Coronavirus cases in schools rise, a virologist has called on the government to firmly close down pre-schools, kindergartens, and lower primary schools as a measure to control the spread. Dr. Michael Owusu of the Kumasi Center for Collaborative Research said this move will be one in the right direction, helping substantially to slow down the rate of spread in the country. “If we have to tackle schools, I don’t think that closure of all schools is necessary but we may begin by looking at the kindergarten and lower primary as it is extremely difficult to fully implement the protocol,” he said. Dr. Owusu was speaking on JoyNews Prime, reports myjoyonline.com. However, a lecturer at the Global Health Department of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Dr. John Amuasi, disagrees. In his assertion, available data in Ghana and elsewhere suggests that the virus’ spread in schools is relatively low in the scheme of things except for the known threats associated with social gathering. “For me, rather than focusing the efforts on random sampling within the schools, I will continue to trumpet the need for random sampling at the community level because this is what will allow us to measure the real rate of spread at the national level,” he said on February 1. He further explained that “If you measure the rate of spread at the school level, it does not provide significant information for decision making because these are the same people that move back home and then infect their parent, grandparents and who they meet.” Several calls have been made since schools resumed in January, for the closure of especially all classes in the lower primary level of schools, with fears that the protocols will not be properly adhered to by the children. Only yesterday, reports from the Akosombo International School showed that some 79 people (74 students and 5 staff) had contracted the virus. Currently, Ghana has a total of 72,328 confirmed cases after conducting 805,652 tests since the virus first entered the country in mid-March 2020. A total of 65,149 have recovered while the death stats are at 472. Ghanaweb Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
UER: School closed down in Tampane after effect of COVID-19
Notre Dame educational complex in Basyonde a private school in the Tempane District of the Upper East Region has been closed down after the return from coronavirus break. This was confirmed to Apexnewsgh.com by Asaana Apali the Acting Proprietor of the school when he was called upon. According to the Proprietor, even though their school population wasn’t that huge, they were in their numbers before the COVID-19 closure of schools across the country, but unfortunately when the ban for closure of school was lifted by government, the teachers were no where to be found and with that, management of the school said, the better option was to close the school. “Before the coronavirus, we had the first batch and they wrote and their results were good but, even though we were not having much population but we were more than hundred (100) but after the coronavirus, all the teachers left. So, when we re-opened school, some of the children also left and those who came were not even up to Ten (10). So, we were expecting that by the second week, they will come back and we see what to do but the second week, none of them were there. So, we have no other option than to close the school”. However, Mr. Apali pointed that the school is one of the best in the Tempane constituency Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
4 Die Of COVID-19 In Bono Region
The Bono Region recorded three COVID-19 deaths in January 2021, bringing the death toll in the region to four since the outbreak of the disease, Dr John Ekow Otoo, the Deputy Bono Regional Director in-charge of Public Health, has disclosed. He explained that heath officials in the region were currently discussing with families of the deceased about the processes for their burial. In October last year, the region recorded its first COVID-19 death, while as of February 1, 2021, a total of 685 Coronavirus cases had been recorded with 645 recoveries. Dr Otoo told the Daily Graphic in an interview that the region currently has 36 active cases, with one out of the five who have been hospitalised in critical condition. Suspected cases He said the health directorate was currently waiting for results of 226 samples taken from people suspected to have contracted the disease. Dr Otoo explained that while 182 samples were taken from contacts of COVID-19 cases, 44 of the samples were taken from suspected people who attended various hospitals across the region. He added that those whose samples had been taken had been detained at treatment centres while awaiting their test results. “The interesting thing is that the number of cases that we have recorded in the region within one month is more than 40,” Dr Otoo stated. Safety precaution On precautionary measures, Dr Otoo said while the government and health personnel were doing all they could to stop the spread of the disease, people in the region should do their part by taking their health into their own hands. He said they could do this through the strict observation of all the COVID-19 safety measures such as the wearing of face masks, social distancing, constant washing of hands and the use of hand sanitiser. “Don’t let the people who doubt the existence of COVID-19 deceive you since the disease is real,” he cautioned. Dr Otoo added that COVID-19 was currently being contracted by people across all ages, disclosing that one of the three people who died from COVID-19 in January was aged 35. Graphiconline.com Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
‘No proof’ Hydrogen peroxide ‘prevents, treats’ COVID; misuse dangerous – GMA warns
The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has said some recently published observational studies within and outside the country suggesting the use of Hydrogen peroxide for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19, do not constitute enough proof that it can prevent or treat the virus in human beings. The GMA has, therefore, urged Ghanaians to continue to adhere to all the COVID-19 safety protocols while the world awaits proof of the use of Hydrogen peroxide to prevent or treat the deadly virus. In a statement co-signed by its President, Dr Frank Ankobea; and General Secretary, Dr Justice Yankson, the GMA said its attention “has been drawn to recent media publications on the use of hydrogen peroxide to prevent COVID-19, which has led to panic buying and shortages of the product from pharmacy outlets.” The GMA noted: “Hydrogen peroxide has been used for several decades for disinfection and as an antiseptic. Specifically in Ghana, Hydrogen peroxide at low concentrations of 3-6 per cent w/v is registered by the FDA as antiseptic for minor cuts, wounds and skin ulcers and also mouthwash and deodorant gargle”. “Presently, Hydrogen peroxide has not been approved, authorised or recommended by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) (Ghana), Ghana Health Service (GHS), Ministry of Health (MoH), World Health Organization (WHO) or any other reputable international drug or health regulatory body for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19.” It continued: “There has been some published observational studies both within Ghana and abroad that suggests that Hydrogen peroxide ‘may be used’ for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19. However, these do not constitute sufficient proof that it will work in human populations to prevent or treat COVID-19 at this present moment”. The GMA, therefore, advised that “while we await proof of the use of Hydrogen peroxide for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, the general public should handle the product like any other medicinal product and that the misuse of same could lead to serious physical and undesirable medical consequences.” It also advised the public to “consult appropriate health professionals (prescribers) before they purchase such products. “ The GMA further called on the public to “continue to adhere strictly to the protocols of the mask-wearing, hand washing or use of alcohol-based hand sanitisers and social (physical) distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19.” It also cautioned the public to “do your best to stay safe during the pandemic, COVID-19 is real.” Former Provost of the College of Health Sciences of the University of Ghana, Prof. Emeritus Andrews Seth Ayettey, for protection against COVID-19, recommended the use of Hydrogen peroxide alongside observation of the safety protocols. In a write-up, the former College of Health Sciences Provost said: “In our on-going observational studies, we have become even more convinced about the efficacy of this solution, realising that eight frontline nurses in the COVID-19 management team at a District Hospital using hydrogen peroxide had not contracted the disease and had tested negative since May 2020. In comparison, 62 of their colleagues not using peroxide had contracted the disease by end of December 2020. In a Google survey to determine hydrogen peroxide use we noted that even though the number of respondents was few, none using hydrogen peroxide had had COVID-19 or had tested positive for the virus. Also, none of those we know using hydrogen peroxide has been diagnosed with the disease.” According to Prof Ayettey, “Recently, a friend who was not using Hydrogen peroxide had COVID-19. His wife, three elderly children, and mother-in-law who had been with him for 5 days and who all tested positive for the virus were encouraged to use hydrogen peroxide for mouth washing, throat gargling and nose cleansing, in addition to their prescribed medications of vitamin C, Ivermectin and Zinc. After two weeks, they all tested negative. None progressed to develop clinical symptoms of the disease.” ClassFm Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
Full text of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo 23rd address to the nation
Fellow Ghanaians, good evening. I came into your homes, on 17th January, to give an account of our COVID-19 situation – a situation which, per available data at the time, was not good. To this end, I appealed to you, my fellow Ghanaians, to help contain the spread of the virus by respecting the protocols Government had put in place. The hope was that we would begin to see an improvement in our case count, as a result. Two weeks on from that address, the situation is even worse. As of Friday, 29th January, sixty-four (64) more people have, sadly, died, over the last two weeks, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths to four hundred and sixteen (416). Our hospitalization rates are increasing, with the number of critically and severely ill persons now at one hundred and seventy-two (172). Our hospitals have become full, and we have had to reactivate our isolation centres. Our average daily rates of infection now stand at seven hundred (700), compared to two hundred (200) two weeks ago. The total number of active cases has more than doubled, from a little over one thousand, nine hundred (1,900), two weeks ago, to five thousand, three hundred and fifty-eight (5,358) currently. When I delivered Update No. 22, thirteen (13) out of the sixteen (16) regions had recorded active cases; today, all sixteen (16) regions have active cases. Indeed, Greater Accra, Central, Western, Ashanti, Eastern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, and Northern Regions are the hardest hit, accounting for ninety-four percent (94%) of the total number of active cases. In effect, fellow Ghanaians, we have a lot of work to do in coming to grips with the disease. Given that recent studies show that the UK and other new variants are being transmitted within the population, we should all understand that our current situation could get very dire if efforts are not made, both on the part of Government and by you, the citizenry, to help contain the virus. The analysis continues to tell us that the spread of the virus mostly occurs in indoor, confined spaces with poor ventilation, where people are talking, singing, or shouting without their masks. The imposition of restrictions on our daily routines helped in reducing the prevalence of the pandemic in the country, and Government has been left with no option but to re-introduce some of these restrictions in order to help save the situation. I know these measures, in the recent past, were unpleasant, but, over a period, they resulted in a favourable situation for our country. We have to return to them. So, fellow Ghanaians, until further notice, funerals, weddings, concerts, theatrical performances, and parties are banned. Private burials, with no more than twenty-five (25) people, can take place, with the enforcement of the social distancing, hygiene and mask wearing protocols. Beaches, night clubs, cinemas, and pubs continue to be shut. Our borders by land and sea remain closed. All workplaces, public and private, must employ a shift-system for workers, in addition to the use of virtual platforms for business or work. Conferences and workshopscan take place with all the appropriate protocols. However, I encourage the use of virtual platforms for such engagements. Restaurants should provide take-away services, and should, as much as possible, avoid seated services. The National Sports Authority and the Ghana Football Association should ensure compliance with the twenty-five percent (25%) capacity rule in our stadia, with spectators respecting the social distancing rule and wearing of masks. To the revered leaders of our religious organisations, i.e. our churches and mosques, I entreat you to enforce, to the letter, the protocols relating to attendance, i.e. the two-hour duration, one-metre social distancing, mask wearing, use of sanitizers, and the presence of veronica buckets, liquid soap, and rolls of tissue paper. I note that, since the re-opening of our schools, two weeks ago, we have witnessed only few reports of cases amongst students. I appeal to school authorities and teachers to enforce the guidelines provided by the Ghana Education Service, and I urge the Ghana Health Service to continue their surveillance at the schools, so we can contain any reported cases. As we step up public education and enforcement of the protocols on public gatherings, let me also state that regulatory agencies will undertake random checks to ensure conformity with these rules, and the security services will be tasked to enforce them. You do not have to be arrested by the Police before you wear your mask, your workplace should not be closed for non-conformity with the protocols, if there is no urgent reason for you to be outside, please stay at home. Each one of us can help to contain the spread if we continue to practice the measures of social distancing, washing our hands with soap under running water, refraining from shaking hands, and, wearing our masks whenever we leave our homes. These measures must be respected by all. I urge you, my fellow Ghanaians, to continue to pay attention to your health, improve your fitness levels, and eat our local foods that boost your immunity. Should you at any point feel unwell, or exhibit the most common symptoms of COVID-19, such as fever, dry cough, tiredness, please report to the nearest health facility and get tested. COVID-19 tests are free for all Ghanaians at public health institutions. If a Ghanaian citizen returns a positive result, the cost of care at isolation and treatment centres will be borne by Government. At the 58th Summit of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, held virtually, it was agreed that the cost of the COVID test for in-bound ECOWAS nationals be pegged at fifty United States dollars ($50) at the Kotoka International Airport. The cost of the test for non-ECOWAS nationals still remains one hundred and fifty ($150) dollars. ECOWAS nationals and travelers, who test positive, will bear the cost of the mandatory isolation and treatment. Ghanaian nationals, however, who test positive, upon their arrival into