The Director of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Professor Abraham K. Anang has attributed the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in Ghana to a disregard of safety protocols.

Health authorities recently indicated that a cumulative number of 55,220 cases of the coronavirus had been recorded in the country.

The Ghana Health Service said a total of 3,580 health workers out of that number had so far contracted the virus.

Speaking on the sidelines of the launch of the Third Country Training Course on enhancing laboratory skills for infectious diseases in West African countries, Prof. Anang said Ghana will continue to record more cases until the safety protocols are strictly adhered to.

“Many people in Ghana are not taking the effective preventive precautions well and therefore end up getting infected and until we stop that, then it means we will still be in a form of a challenge.”

His comment comes in the wake of the emergence of new COVID-19 cases in the Western Region, following months of zero cases.

The region’s situation report as of Friday, 8th January 2021 indicated that 48 active new cases had been recorded in three areas.

The latest case list brings the cumulative positive cases recorded in the region to 3,203 and out of which 3,140 have recovered, with 15 deaths.

Health officials have thus warned Ghanaians to adhere to COVID-19 protocols, especially in public transport, churches, markets and other public places.