By Antionette Abbah.
The Ghana Health Service has launched investigations into allegations that Jamaican Dancehall icon, Beenie Man, flouted health protocols after allegedly testing positive for Covid-19.
The Artiste was billed to perform at Stonebwoy’s Bhim Concert but was sent into mandatory quarantine at the AH Hotel immediately after touching down at the Kotoka International Airport.
He however broke the directive by vacating the facility to appear on media platforms, including the much-anticipated concert, which saw a star-studded lineup sharing the same stage at the Accra International Conference Centre Grand Arena in Accra.
After his round of activities within the country, Beenie Man is alleged to have been arrested on return to the Ghana Immigration Service at the airport for his passport.
Director of Public Health at the GHS, Dr Franklin Asiedu Bekoe, stated in an interview that the circumstances under which the musician moved from the hotel to the show must be probed to ascertain the real facts of the case. He said the Service is trying to get more of the details as they are not so sure how he could have moved from the hotel to the show.
Meanwhile, Public Health Analyst, Nana Kofi Quakyi is warning that the health systems will be stretched beyond their current capacity if much is not done to curtail the spread of the omicron variant. He said despite the less destructive nature of the variant compared to the Delta strain, if large numbers are infected, the country will be overwhelmed.
His comments come after health experts said the country is experiencing its fourth wave of the pandemic. Figures from the festive period show that the nation’s infection rate has reached a record high of one thousand, 320 cases in one day.
Fresh data from Christmas Eve indicate that some 1,264 persons contracted the virus, with 8,554 cases currently active out of the cumulative 140,221 confirmed so far.
