COVID-19 cases are rising steadily in the country, with the number of new cases recorded a day going up from 85 to 143, data from the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has shown.

Active cases have increased from 1,674 to 2,314 from June 30 to July 13, 2021.

The GHS Covid-19 Update Page said the deaths have also gone up from 796 to 802 within the same period with the number of confirmed cases shooting up from 95,914 to 97,728.

Dr Emmanuel Ahiable, the COVID-19 Case Management Lead at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge), told the Ghana News Agency in Accra that the increase in COVID-19 infections was beginning to reflect at the Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU). He said about a week ago, 10 out of the 16 beds at the ICU were occupied.

Dr Ahiable expressed concern over the non-adherence to the COVID-19 protocols in the communities, saying the rate of infections could worsen in case of a surge. He urged the public to mask up, observe social distancing and wash hands regularly with soap under running water to help avert the spread of the disease.

Coronaviruses are a large group of viruses that are common among animals. In rare cases, they are what scientists call zoonotic, meaning they can be transmitted from animals to humans, according to the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

It has an incubation period of four to six days and is fatal, especially for those with a weakened immune system – the elderly and the very young. It could also result in pneumonia and bronchitis.