Government has completed the expansion of the Kumasi South District Hospital to enhance quality healthcare delivery, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), has announced.

Dr Kuma-Aboagye said the Komfo Anokye Hospital had expanded the Golden Department with Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to take more COVID-19 patients.

The Director-General said this in Accra when he provided an update on the state of health infrastructure, especially the bed capacity for the treatment of COVID-19 patients at the Ministry of Information's news conference.

Health authorities have secured a facility for setting up the biggest COVID-19 treatment centre so far in the Ashanti Region, he said.

He said the 90-bed capacity facility at Toase in Atwima-Nwabiagya Municipality in the Ashanti Region donated by Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation would be in operation from Wednesday July 22.

The facility, which would be used as one of the biggest COVID-19 treatment centre, comes with an ICU and staff accommodation.

On the state of the 40-bed Dodowa facility with an ICU, which is to house the Centre for Disease Control, Dr Kuma-Aboagye said it was near completion and expressed the hope that it would be handed over soon.

He said the country's first infectious disease isolation and treatment centre would soon be commissioned to treat critically ill COVID-19 patients.

Government said the centre would be used as a Centre of Excellence for Treatment and Research into some of the most infectious diseases prevalent in Ghana after the pandemic.

He said government was making every effort to expand both testing, isolation and treatment facilities across the country.

The GHS Director-General urged the public to strictly observe the social distancing, hand washing and mandatory wearing of nose masks regulations, as the only proven way to slow down COVID-19 infections and prevent the needless deaths.

He called on religious and traditional leaders to intensify educational campaign on COVID-19, for all to remain alert and exhibit responsible behaviour.