The Health Directorate of the Northern Region says there has been an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in the region, from the previous 19 to 32.

According to the Regional Health Director Dr. John B. Eleeza, the sudden jump in figures is from the results of samples taken from some 200 people during a contact tracing exercise in the region. There is also an isolated case which brought the total figure to 32.

He tells JoyNews, 9 out of the new cases who tested positive are males and the rest females. The age range for the victims ranges between 5 years to 51 years, with the 5-year-old being a girl.

He said there will be serious challenges for the region in the fight against the virus if they fail to contain further spread.

"When we send samples to KCCR, it takes a lot of time for us to get results. These 200 cases are from three weeks ago. But the results just arrived.

"We submitted it on April 22 and it was on MAy 15 that we got the results. This tells you that as a region and a metropolis, in general, we are going to have serious challenges because here is a case where we took samples three weeks ago and we are now getting the results.

"So now we have to quickly start following up on the 13 people and start contact tracing. It is very important that we follow all protocols. We must start seeing everyone as a potential case because here is a case that if the 12 people have not been practicing social distancing then they have also infected countless people.

He urged the media to help in educating people about the virus and the necessary preventive measures outlined by the Ghana Health Service.

The region now has 32 confirmed cases, 12 recoveries and 1 death.