The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has said the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 pandemic has killed 100 people in Ghana so far.

The Director-General of GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, made the revelation in an interview with Kwame Obeng Sarkodie on Accra100.5FM’s morning show Ghana Yensom on Wednesday, 5 January 2021.

He said the Greater Accra Region is recording an average of 1,000 new Omicron cases daily. 

Prior to the entry of Omicron, Dr. Kuma-Aboagye said Ghana’s active caseload was a little below 1,000 cases.  

Dr. Kuma-Aboagye said it was the expectation of the Health Service that there was going to be a spike in the number of cases after the Christmas festivities.

However, he noted that the spike preceded the Christmas festivities and has been rising since.

Dr Kuma-Aboagye explained that this is a difficult time for the country, as far as the fight against the pandemic is concerned.

He said the spike in the numbers can halt if Ghanaians continue to take the vaccines and observe the safety protocols.

He assured the country that the COVID vaccines were safe.

According to him, it is because of the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines that even though countries like the United States of America and the United Kingdom continue to record more cases, fewer patients get to be admitted.

Globally, he said more than four billion people have been vaccinated while about ten million people have taken the jab in Ghana.

He cautioned anti-vaccine campaigners to stop demonizing the vaccine and rather help to save lives.

In spite of the spike, Dr. Kuma-Aboagye said Ghana is nowhere near another lockdown, especially if the citizens adhere to safety protocols and also get vaccinated.