The Impact of Covid-19 on the Socio-economic Activities of Ordinary Ghanaians: A Case of the Ga East Municipal

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue IV, April 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186

The Impact of Covid-19 on the Socio-economic Activities of Ordinary Ghanaians: A Case of the Ga East Municipal

Isaac Baidoo¹, Eunice Adomaa², Sam Kingsley Odoom³, and Alfred Asuming Boakye^{4
1, 4} University of Ghana Legon
²Ghana Atomic Energy Commission
³Council for Scientific and Industrial research

Abstract
The novel Coronavirus disease which was discovered in 2019 posed a worldwide threat when WHO declared it a pandemic. This brought many woes to the people across the globe and Ghana was no exception. To ascertain the impact of the coronavirus on ordinary Ghanaians, secondary data was collected on the incidence of the virus on the Ghanaian economy and trend analyzed. It was found that there was an exponential increase in the incidence of the virus. Also, using structured questionnaires data was collected from the Ga East Municipal of Greater Accra on the socio-economic activities of the individuals and how the coronavirus affected them. It was found out that the income levels of these people were both positively and negatively affected. Probit regression results show that those who are educated and enlightened, male respondents, those with children and those who are self-employed had their income negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Only those who employed in a particular occupation and price of facemask had a positive effect on the income levels of these individuals. It is recommended that government and international agencies come to the aid of the people within this area and the nation at large to help alleviate this canker in order to avoid its further spread.

Keywords: coronavirus, Ghana, Ga East, pandemic incidence

Introduction
In late December 2019, a novel Corona Virus was identified as a pathogen that caused the outbreak of a SARS-like illness in the Chinese city of Wuhan, and this was officially named as COVID-19 by the World Health Organization (WHO). Prior to this, severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome by corona virus (SARS-CoV) emerged as a new human infection in South China in November 2002 and ended in July 2003. It infected more than 8000 people and caused to 800 deaths with an overall mortality rate of about 9.6%. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV), another highly pathogenic Corona Virus, first emerged in Saudi Arabia causing a total of 2494 laboratory- confirmed cases and 858 deaths from 27 countries since September 2012. (http://www.who.int/emergencies/ mers-cov/en/).
From the beginning, clusters of cases of novel Corona virus infection were reported

Read More