Ghana has recorded 65 new covid-19 cases, increasing the country’s active case count to 871.

The country’s death toll still stands at 333.

The Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions continue to lead with high numbers of covid-19 related cases; 29,975 and 11,169 respectively.

Ghana has had a total of 54,286 cases and 53,082 discharges.

Ahead of the Christmas holidays and expected merrymaking, President Akufo-Addo had urged Ghanaians to adhere to COVID-19 safety protocols.

In his 20th update on the management of the coronavirus pandemic in Ghana, he urged Ghanaians to “err on the side of caution and observe the COVID-19 safety protocols no matter where we find ourselves.”

The Director of Public Health at the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe says testing is ongoing to determine if the new variant of the coronavirus has emerged in the country.

This comes days after Nigeria recorded cases of the virus.

Some top health official outside Ghana have said there was no evidence the new variant was more deadly or would react differently to vaccines, but it was proving to be up to 70 percent more transmissible.