There remain doubts among a section of the public of the existence of Covid 19, as Ghana continues to record cases, even though on an average low.
Health experts say the country is not out of the woods yet so the safety protocols should be religiously adhered to, while we wait for vaccination and achieve herd immunity.
The following is a conversation with some Frontline health workers who shared their experiences on Covid-19 and how they cared for Covid patients at the peak of the pandemic, at the Ga East Municipal Hospital and the Infectious disease Centre.
At the height of the pandemic, many were worried about the safety of Health Workers. Those directly involved in the pandemic were then referred to as Frontline Health workers and as covid-19 infections soared, both government and corporate Ghana offered some support to encourage them to work for God and country.
The fear of being infected, losing their lives and not seeing family for months at the peak of the pandemic was something that most frontline health workers had to deal with. But unlike Evelyn and Cecilia who are nurses at the Ga East Municipal Hospital and the Ghana Infectious Disease Centre respectively, they worked tirelessly 24/7 for the first time without seeing their families for months. They say, their passion to save lives in addition to their sworn oaths as critical care nurses, spurred them on.
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Evelyn says she was verbally assaulted, slapped, fell but through it all she worked her hearts out and directed her team on the needed protocols to follow to protect their lives as well.
Cecilia who is the Principal Nursing officer at the ICU at the Ghana Infectious Disease Centre (GIDC) is a critical health nurse and tells me, she was at a point overwhelmed but had to follow through with the protocols to protect her life and that of the client.
For these frontline health workers, their joy was always to see the patients walk home after several weeks of treatment.
Though many people still doubt the existence of Covid19, these frontline health workers say, the disease is not and was never a hoax. It is real.
The active case count for Covid 19 as at 16th June, 2021 stood at one thousand two hundred and fifty-two (1252) with 9 critical cases, 14 severe and seven hundred and ninety-seven deaths (797. The simple message from these gallant heroines is for all to continue to adhere to the safety protocols as the country awaits the distribution of vaccines for all, to achieve herd immunity later in the year.
By: Mavis Offei Acheampong.
