The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) says government must invest in research to really understand the characteristics of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

Prof John Owusu Gyapong on Joy News’ Beyond The Lockdown Sunday said there are so many Covid-19 related questions that need to be answered in order for the citizenry to live with the virus.

However, due to the ‘non-existent’ funding for research in the country, it will be impossible to really learn more about the disease, he said.

He, therefore, called on government expedite processes to rectify the financial deficit of Ghana’s research sector in order for scientists to understand the disease and know how best citizens can live with it.

“We need to really invest in research to have answers to questions and once that is done, we can live with the virus properly.

“Because it is not just an issue of living with the virus but it an issue of knowing what to do when certain situations do arise. And it is only research that can help us get answers to these questions,” he stated.

Touching on new discoveries emerging about the virus periodically, Prof Gyapong said, Ghana must also be capable of conducting these analysis so that decision makers will not always rely on findings from other countries to implement initiatives.

“We are understand there is a psychosocial impact of the virus on the community. Not long ago, we heard about mental health effects of the virus and hearing of there are many chronic diseases that can be associated with people who have recovered or recovering from the virus.

“But we also need to gather real data and do some basic research to understand the dynamics of the infection.”