Fanfare to launch Covid-19 tracker app 'nonsensical' - Okudzeto Ablakwa

Member of Parliament for North Tongu constiruency and Minority Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has described as 'Nonsensical' a concert by the Ministry of Communication to launch a COVID-19 Tracker Application.

He says Ghana has become a subject of ridicule to the outside world who are putting in frantic efforts to find a solution to this pandemic.

Speaking on Okay FM’s 'Ade Akye Abia' program, he explained that the launch of the APP could have been given to the Information Ministry to do or perhaps the President in one of his updates on the COVID-19 to Ghanaians.

"Why waste money on just an APP whilst people are dying of hunger during this lockdown period. This funfare was like Ghana had found the vaccine for the virus," he said.

"The government should have known better to use the country’s scanty resources in these difficult times," he added.

The government through the Ministry of Communications over the weekend launched the GH COVID-19 tracker app in its bid to counter the spread of Coronavirus in Ghana.

Accessible as a browser-based app, the COVID-19 Tracker will allow persons to self-report symptoms without needing to visit a healthcare facility and thereby aiding in social distancing.

Additionally, the tracker can also locate individuals who attend the same function as part of measures towards the enhanced contact tracing exercise to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Vice President, Dr. Bawumia formally launched the application at a virtual concert in Accra on Monday, April 13.

The virtual concert which was broadcast live on major television networks to launch the app had performances from; Shatta Wale, Kuami Eugene, Great Ampong, Kaakyire Kwame Appiah, Lucky Mensah, and other musicians.

The COVID-19 Tracker will be available for download on Playstore this week, according to the Communications Minister.

App Hits 16,000 Downloads In Less Than 24 Hours

The Minister of Communications, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, on Tuesday revealed that the GH COVID-19 Tracker app has been downloaded 16,000 times in less than 24 hours after it was launched on Monday.

According to her, about 100 reports of Coronavirus-like symptoms have also been made through the app.

Addressing the press on Tuesday, Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said the reports would be forward to the Ghana Health Service.

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has disclosed that seventeen (17) persons have fully recovered from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection.

"We have 17 persons who have recorded negatives and are obviously clinically cured," Dr. Patrick Aboagye, Director-General of the Ghana Health Service disclosed at a press briefing on Tuesday.

Delivering an update on COVID-19 at a press briefing on Tuesday, Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah further explained that before a person is officially declared to have fully recovered from the virus, the person has to test negative twice.

He also disclosed that there are another sixty-six (66) people who have also tested negative but are not included in the full recovery cases because they are yet to conduct a second test on them.

The number of recovery cases will come to 83 after their results prove negative on second testing.

Ghana has recorded 566 confirmed cases of the COVID-19.