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This paper provides a mathematical fractional-order model that accounts for the mindset of patients in the transmission of COVID-19 disease, the continuous inflow of foreigners into the country, immunization of population subjects, and temporary loss of immunity by recovered individuals. The analytic solutions, which are given as series solutions, are derived using the fractional power series method (FPSM) and the residual power series method (RPSM). In comparison, the series solution for the number of susceptible members, using the FPSM, is proportional to the series solution, using the RPSM for the first two terms, with a proportional constant of ψ Γ n α + 1 , where ψ is the natural birth rate of the baby into the susceptible population, Γ is the gamma function, n is the n th term of the series, and α is the fractional order as the initial number of susceptible individuals approaches the population size of Ghana. However, the variation in the two series solutions of the number of members who are susceptible to the COVID-19 disease begins at the third term and continues through the remaining terms. This is brought on by the nonlinear function present in the equation for the susceptible subgroup. The similar finding is made in the series solution of the number of exposed individuals. The series solutions for the number of deviant people, the number of nondeviant people, the number of people quarantined, and the number of people recovered using the FPSM are unquestionably almost identical to the series solutions for same subgroups using the RPSM, with the exception that these series solutions have initial conditions of the subgroup of the population size. It is observed that, in this paper, the series solutions of the nonlinear system of fractional partial differential equations (PDEs) provided by the RPSM are more in line with the field data than the series solutions provided by the FPSM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the discrepancy between model findings and field data obtained and how it is minimized using the binning smoothing techniques: means, medians, and boundaries. Employing both the quantitative and the qualitative methods to examine the complex pattern involved in COVID-19 transmission dynamics reveals model variation and provides a boundary signature for the potential of the disease's future spread across the country. To better understand the main underlying factor responsible for the epidemiology of COVID-19 infection in Ghana, the continuous inflow of foreigners, both with and without the disease, was incorporated into the classical Susceptible-Exposed-Quarantined-Recovered SEIQR model, which revealed the spread of the COVID-19 by these foreigners. Also, the diffusion model provided therein gives a threshold condition for the spatial spread of the COVID-19 infection in Ghana. Following the introduction of a new method for the construction of the Lyapunov function for global stability of the nonlinear system of ODEs was observed, overcoming the problem of guessing for the Lyapunov function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discrete count time series data with an excessive number of zeros have warranted the development of zero-inflated time series models to incorporate the inflation of zeros and the overdispersion that comes with it. In this paper, we investigated the characteristics of the trend of daily count of COVID-19 deaths in Ghana using zero-inflated models. We envisaged that the trend of COVID-19 deaths per day in Ghana portrays a general increase from the onset of the pandemic in the country to about day 160 after which there is a general decrease onward. We fitted a zero-inflated Poisson autoregressive model and zero-inflated negative binomial autoregressive model to the data in the partial-likelihood framework. The zero-inflated negative binomial autoregressive model outperformed the zero-inflated Poisson autoregressive model. On the other hand, the dynamic zero-inflated Poisson autoregressive model performed better than the dynamic negative binomial autoregressive model. The predicted new death based on the zero-inflated negative binomial autoregressive model indicated that Ghana's COVID-19 death per day will rise sharply few days after 30th November 2020 and drastically fall just as in the observed data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is shed in the stool of infected individuals and can be detected in sewage and wastewater contaminated with infected stool. This study is aimed at detecting the virus and its potential survival in sewage and wastewater in Ghana. The cross-sectional study included samples from 16 validated environmental surveillance sites in 7 regions of Ghana. A total of 354 samples composed of wastewater (280) and sewage (74) were collected from November 2020 to November 2022. Overall, 17% of the samples were positive for SARS-CoV-2 by real-time PCR, with 6% in sewage and 11% in wastewater. The highest number of positive samples was collected from the Greater Accra Region (7.3%) with the least recorded in the Bono East Region (0.6%). Further characterization of the positive samples using the next-generation sequencing (NGS) approach yielded two variants: Alpha (B.1.1.7) and Delta (AY.36). Attempts to isolate SARS-CoV-2 in the Vero cell line were not successful probably due to the low viral load concentrations (Ct values > 35) or prolonged exposure to high temperatures rendering the virus noninfectious. Our findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 RNA in sewage and wastewater may not be infectious, but the prevalence shows that the virus persists in the communities within Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The COVID-19 pandemic and government-led interventions to tackle it have had life-changing effects on vulnerable populations, especially rural and urban slum dwellers in developing countries. This ethnographic study explored how the Ghanaian government's management of COVID-19, socio-cultural factors, infrastructural challenges, and poverty influenced community perceptions, attitudes, and observance of COVID-19 prevention measures in Ghana. Methods. The study employed focused ethnography using in-depth interviews (IDIs), focus group discussions (FGDs), and nonparticipant observations to collect data from an urban slum and a rural community as well as from government officials, from October 2020 to January 2021. The data were triangulated and analyzed thematically with the support of qualitative software NVivo 12. All ethical procedures were followed. Results. The Ghanaian government's strategy of communicating COVID-19-related information to the public, health-related factors such as health facilities failing to follow standard procedures in testing and tracing persons who came into contact with COVID-19-positive cases, poverty, and lack of social amenities contributed to the poor observance of COVID-19 preventive measures. In addition, the government's relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions, community and family values, beliefs, and misconceptions contributed to the poor observance of COVID-19 preventive measures. Nevertheless, some aspects of the government's intervention measures and support to communities with COVID-19 prevention items, support from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and high knowledge of COVID-19 and its devastating effects contributed to positive attitudes and observance of COVID-19 preventive measures. Conclusion. There is a need for the government to use the existing community structures to engage vulnerable communities so that their concerns are factored into interventions to ensure that appropriate interventions are designed to suit the context. Moreover, the government needs to invest in social amenities in deprived communities. Finally, the government has to be consistent with the information it shares with the public to enhance trust relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little research has been conducted to explore the functional status of community‐dwelling older adults in sub‐Saharan Africa, including Ghana, especially during the COVID‐19 pandemic. This study investigated the functional status and the health‐seeking behaviour of older adults during the COVID‐19 pandemic in Ghana. Utilising a descriptive qualitative approach, semi‐structured interviews were used to collect data from 12 eligible older adults from southern Ghana. With the use of NVivo (v12), descriptive and focused coding techniques were employed to analyse the data. The following five themes were identified after the data analysis: (a) older adults' health status during COVID‐19 pandemic, (b) feeling limited, (c) feeling of unhappiness for being inactive, (d) striving to be active and (e) seeking healthcare during COVID‐19 pandemic. This study revealed the unique health and social‐related needs of Ghanaian older adults during the COVID‐19 pandemic. This study's findings draw attention to the urgent need for the state to devise practical health and social‐related initiatives to support older adults during and after the COVID‐19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about significant challenges to Ghana's education system, leading to the closure of schools for months. On 31 May 2020, the government of Ghana took a bold decision based on expert advice to reopen schools for final-year students amid the COVID-19 pandemic. However, data for students' knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 are limited. We sought to investigate students' level of knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 at Tamale Technical Institute, Ghana. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 175 final-year students from June to August 2020. A validated questionnaire adapted from previous studies was distributed to the students in their various classes by the researchers. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, and multivariate logistic regression. All analyses were significant at a p value of less than 0.05. Results. The mean age of the study participants was 21.1 years (SD = 2.67), with more males (72.0%) than females participating in the study. The majority (69.7%) of the students trust traditional media sources, i.e., television and radio to receive COVID-19-related information. Awareness about COVID-19 was high (98.3%), and in total, 62.9% (n = 110) had good knowledge, 58.3% (n = 102) had positive attitudes, and 54.9% (n = 96) had good practices towards COVID-19. Factors associated with knowledge were receiving education on COVID-19 (AOR = 0.23; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.55) and mother level of education (AOR = 0.13; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.66). Positive attitudes towards COVID-19 were 63% less likely among students who did not receive education on COVID-19 (AOR = 0.37; 95% CI: 0.15, 0.90). Students who received education on COVID-19 exhibited good practice towards COVID-19 than students who did not receive education on COVID-19 (p = 0.014). Conclusion. Final-year students of Tamale Technical Institute possess good knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward COVID-19. Our findings demonstrate the significant role of health education in improving students' knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19. We recommend continuous and targeted health education to mitigate the widespread misconceptions about COVID-19 through the use of traditional media such as television and radio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]