The Ashanti Regional Health Directorate will begin a five-day COVID-19 vaccination exercise in the 43 districts in the Region.

The exercise, which will begin on September 1, is seeking to vaccinate 70,300 people who received the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccines.

Dr Emmanuel Tinkorang, the Regional Director of Health Services, told a press briefing in Kumasi that persons of 18 years and above except pregnant women, were eligible to take the jab.

He, however, said those who had received the Sputnik, Johnson and Johnson vaccines as well as those who did not receive the first dose of the AstraZeneca, were ineligible to take the vaccine.

Giving a breakdown of the number of people being targeted in the various districts, Dr Tinkorang disclosed that the Directorate was targeting all health workers and members of the public who received the first dose.

He said 327 new cases were recorded between July 2 and August 29 while 98 schools in the region reported cases, adding that the region currently had 361 active cases.

Dr Tinkorang said vaccinating the population against the viral disease was critical to the fight against the pandemic and urged the public in the districts to visit vaccination centres in their localities to take their shots.

He said the blatant disregard of the protocols was accounting for the rise in new cases and cautioned the public to continue observing the safety protocols even after vaccination.

Currently, the Region has cumulative cases of 20,170 out of which 19,468 had recovered, with 361 deaths recorded as of August 29.