Nine very high ranking doctors in Ghana have so far died from the COVID-19 pandemic across the regions.

Figures from the Ghana Medical Association have shown that nine doctors have so far died between March and August 2021. 544 doctors have also been infected with COVID- 19 putting the doctors in one of the highly risk professions in the fight against the pandemic.

The high ranking doctors who have passed on include consultants, surgeons and specialists. “From our data, out of the 12 months period 544 doctors have been infected.

“The dashboard also shows that we have lost nine doctors”. Dr. Titus Beyuo, The Deputy General Secretary of the GMA revealed on the Sunrise morning show on Thursday.

In the Oti Region, 196 health workers are down with COVID, representing 25.6 percent of all cases in the region.

The Regional Director of Health in Oti, Dr. Osei Kuffour Afreh who spoke to Alfred Ocansey said it is worrying because service delivery would be compromised in the next two weeks.

“Some staff are not allowed to take their annual leave because 196 of our staff are down with COVID. We are pushing the staff to work extra hours and we are moving some staff to work in other departments when they don’t have to. But currently, 24 staff are positive actively and we are doing the home base care for them”.

Meanwhile, Dr. Titus Beyuo said the wave of infections in the Oti Region is not due to the absence of PPEs but due to one virus variant that is very transmissible and the communities in Oti are not using the facemasks, thus affecting the health workers.