New hotspots for Coronavirus infections, particularly the Delta variant, are emerging in the Volta, Bono, and Bono East regions.

Traditional hotspots such as Greater Accra and Ashanti remain.

According to the Ghana Health Service (GHS), the Volta Region, which had 16 active cases on July 1, now had 532 cases as of August 1, while the Bono Region’s figures increased from eight to 200 and Bono East’s from three to 178.

During the Covid-19 update in Accra on Wednesday, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), told the media that the Delta variant was liable for 79 percent of all Covid-19 cases within the Greater Accra Region.

He claimed that the Delta variant, which had a higher transmission rate and a more severe disease burden, was becoming dominant, and that stricter enforcement of the safety protocols was needed to stop the virus from spreading further.

According to him, the situation has resulted in an increase in workplace and school infections, with active cases jumping from 1,600 to over 6,000 in less than a month.

As of August 1, 2021, there were 6,766 active cases with 854 deaths.

“The current trend of cases with low adherence to Covid-19 safety protocols raises the likelihood of a bigger third wave.”

“With an increase in severe and critical cases, the average number of cases per day is likely to rise. Because the outbreak has the potential to have a negative impact on all sectors, aggressive efforts to reverse the trend are required, according to Dr. Kuma-Aboagye.

There are now 272 hospital admissions in the Greater Accra Region, with 36 critical cases, 87 severe cases, and 107 mild to moderate cases.

Non-wearing of nose masks, disregard for the social distancing rule, and non-observance of regular hand hygiene, according to Dr. Kuma-Aboagye, were the driving forces behind the increase in infections, while 98 percent of the population had not been vaccinated, exposing more people to the virus.

He said that 404 schools had reported positive cases of the virus, with a complete of two ,864 positive cases and 304 active cases.