The Presidential Advisor on Heath has said the partial lockdown period will be used as an opportunity to accelerate testing and surveillance as the country puts measures in place to reduce transmission of COVID-19.

Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare said the two-week embargo will see officials of the Ghana Health Service and Health Ministry implement a five-point target as stipulated by President Akufo-Addo.

Touting the progress in limiting and importation of cases, the former boss of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) explained that government is committed to improving testing, early detection and containment of infections.

“All the cases were imported here. But now we have horizontal or local transmission. So we want to contain it so that it doesn’t go anywhere else. That is the reason why we feel that the way to go is test, test, test test,” he said.

Speaking at a press briefing Sunday, Dr Nsiah-Asare said, “most countries who did that (testing) have been successful in containing the disease” for which reason it will be replicated in Ghana.

Ghana’s Covid-19 cases have increased to 152 from 141, the Ghana Health Service has confirmed.

The Service said the 11 new cases, were recorded on Sunday, March 29, 2020.

Ten of the new cases are among persons who were under mandatory quarantine in the Northern Regional Capital Tamale, under the direction of the Regional Security Committee.

All these 10 cases are Guinean residents who travelled through Burkina Faso and Togo to Ghana and were picked following an intelligence report.

President Akufo-Addo on Friday evening announced that movements in some urban areas in the country will be restricted from Monday for two weeks as part of government measures to control the spread of the coronavirus.

The lockdown affects areas in Accra, Tema, Kasoa and Kumasi, where significant numbers of infections have been recorded.