Change in weather not too drastic to affect coronavirus cases - Dr. Anabah

“We have not had a terrible change in weather like in Europe to say that the weather has changed to favour the coronavirus cases we are recording.” That is the assertion of Dr Thomas Winsum Anabah, the Executive Director for the Africa Center for Health Policy, Research Analysis, on the suspicions that Ghana’s rising case count could be attributed to the

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He said that while there could be a possibility, it falls within the smallest margins because the temperatures now are not any different from when the country recorded its first coronavirus cases in 2020.

“The change in weather could be a reason, however, the change is not drastic. You know the cold weather favours the virus because it has a lipid cover that is very susceptible to high temperatures. However, the temperatures we have now is not different from the temperatures we had when we had the outbreak because we are in February but the temperature is like we are in May,” he explained.

Speaking in a telephone interview with GhanaWeb, Dr Anabah stressed the rather poor and unserious regard for the safety protocols among the populace, as the major contributor to the rising numbers in the case counts.

He explained further that it is the new strain of the virus being experienced in the country, coupled with the disregard for the coronavirus protocols that are causing the drastic change and rise in numbers, as well as deaths.

“So that to me cannot be a real determining factor. In the developed countries or the northern countries, they have ice and very cold temperatures which favors the long life of the virus in the air. Here, we should be aware that we now have a new strain and that new strain propagates faster – 70 times faster than the first strain we had, coupled with our disregard to the protocols. And even when we are observing the protocols, people pretend to be doing it.

“So, we are pretending to be adhering to the protocols but we are really not doing it. To me, it is the disregard to the protocols that is the main problem. At least wearing of the face mask will reduce your risk by 70 to 90%. We have not had a terrible change in weather like in Europe to say that the weather has changed to favour it,” he stressed.

Ghana’s current coronavirus figures are at 6,411 active cases with 464 deaths.