Some final-year students of the University of Ghana, Legon, are calling for the suspension of the National Annual Delegates Conference at the UG Sports Stadium from July 17 to 19, to be held by the New Patriotic Party.

The students are set to petition the university's Sports Directorate over concerns that the gathering could escalate the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Appearing before Parliament to provide an update on the resurgence of COVID-19 in the country on Tuesday, July 1, Health Minister Mintah Akandoh noted that as of July 1, 107 out of 316 suspected cases within the University of Ghana community have been confirmed as COVID-19.

Currently, no deaths have been reported, and no individual is currently on admissions.

Honourable Akandoh noted that the outbreak is limited to the University of Ghana community, adding that "it has not spread widely to other parts of Accra or the rest of the country."

He noted that these cases have been traced to a familiar variant—the Omicron sub-variant.The cases were detected through Ghana’s influenza surveillance system and confirmed by the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research.

This national network of sentinel sites operates across all 16 regions.

He therefore assure Ghanaians that, should there be any casesoutside the university campus, "our surveillance system remainsactive and ready to detect and respond effectively."

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has revealed that the current COVID-19 cases recorded in the University of Ghana are of mild magnitude.

The Health Services Directorate of the University of Ghana has reactivated its COVID-19 Response Protocols, including screening and triage measures at health facilities.

The preventive measures include wearing face masks properly, especially in enclosed or crowded spaces, and washing hands frequently with soap under running water or using alcohol-based hand sanitizers.

Subsequently, all staff, students, and visitors are strongly advised to remain vigilant and strictly adhere to recommended preventive measures to reduce the risk of infection and community spread.

In light of this, management of the University of Ghana, Legon, has suspended all social gatherings on campus, excluding official university activities and lectures, to quell the spread of COVID-19 cases

The head of Biology at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), Professor Kofi Bonnie, has warned that the rainy season could trigger the resurgence of COVID-19. Speaking to Joy News, the virologist explained that influenza-like illnesses surge during rainy days.

COVID-19 is the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. It usually spreads between people in close contact.

COVID-19 vaccines provide strong protection against severe illness and death. Although a person can still get COVID-19 after vaccination, they are more likely to have mild or no symptoms.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), COVID-19 symptoms typically appear 5 to 6 days after exposure and can last between 1 and 14 days, ranging from common symptoms like fever, chills, and sore throat to less common ones such as muscle aches, severe fatigue, nasal congestion, headache, sore eyes, dizziness, a persistent cough, chest pain, shortness of breath, hoarseness, numbness, appetite loss, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, altered taste or smell, and difficulty sleeping.

In 2020, COVID-19 was declared a public health emergency of international concern. In March of the period in question, Ghana recorded its first case.