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This study sought to assess the nature of online mathematics teaching and learning, the associated challenges and the support system put in place for students due to COVID-19 at the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), Ghana. The study employed concurrent mixed method design. A sample size of 507 comprising 490 students and 17 lecturers respectively were used for the study. In the study, proportionate stratified sampling, and list-based sampling frame were employed by the researchers to select the sample of mathematics students whereas census was used to include lecturers. Data for the quantitative phase were garnered using questionnaire while interview was used for collecting data for the qualitative phase. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were used to analyse the quantitative and qualitative data respectively. From the study it was deduced that, among the challenges facing students and lecturers in the online teaching and learning of Mathematics are; high cost of internet data bundle, unreliable internet connection, unfamiliarity with some online platforms, difficulty in accessing some online platforms using smartphones, and difficulty in teaching some topics online. In addressing the issue of encountering difficulty in teaching some topics online, we recommend the University’s Management to partner with agencies that host learning resources platforms to provide mathematics contents to help students explore. Again, we recommend that University’s Management commences discussions with telecom providers to allow zero charges on the use of smartphones for content download from the university’s learning sites.

Summary Objective This analysis described the clinical features of COVID-19 in the early phase of the pandemic in Ghana. Methods Data were extracted from two national COVID-19 treatment centers in Ghana for over 11 weeks(from March to May 2020). Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed. Modified Ordered Logistic and Negative Binomial Regression analysis were applied to establish factors associated with illness severity and Non-communicable Disease (NCDs) counts respectively. All analysis was conducted at the 95% confidence level (p-value ≤ 0.05) using Stata 16. Results Among the 275 patients, the average age was 40.7±16.4, with a preponderance of males (54.5%). The three commonest symptoms presented were cough (21.3%), headache (15.7%), and sore throat (11.7%). Only 7.6% of the patients had a history of fever. Most patients were asymptomatic (51.65). Approximately 38.9% have an underlying co-morbid NCDs, with Hypertension (32.1%), Diabetes (9.9%), and Asthma (5.2%) being the three commonest. The odds of Moderate/severe (MoS) was significantly higher for those with unknown exposures to similar illness [aOR(95%CI) = 4.27(1.12–10.2)] compared with non-exposure to similar illness. An increased unit of NCD's count significantly increased the odds of COVID-19 MoS illness by 26%[cOR(95%CI) =1.26(1.09–1.84)] and 67% (adjusting for age) [aOR(95%CI)=1.67(1.13–2.49)]. Conclusion The presence of cardiovascular co-morbidities dictated the frequency of reported symptoms and severity of COVID-19 infection in this sample of Ghanaians. Physicians should be aware of the presence of co-morbid NCDs and prepare to manage effectively among COVID-19 patients. Funding None declared