The coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) has killed 26 people in the Bono Region from January to March this year.

One death was recorded in December 2020, bringing the regional death toll to 27, Dr Kofi Amo-Kodieh, the Bono Regional Director of Health said on Wednesday.

Addressing a news conference in Sunyani, the Regional Director said the region had so far recorded 1,095 COVID-19 cases.

He attributed the sharp rise in the COVID-19 cases in the region to the failure and negligence of the populace to adhere to the prescribed health safety guidelines and protocols.

Dr Amo-Kodieh said the COVID-19 vaccine had proven efficacious in building one's immune system, saying the vaccine remained the surest way to protect people from the viral disease.

He appealed to the populace to ignore conspiracy theories about the vaccine.

He said the region would benefit in the next phase of the vaccination exercise and called on the people to adhere to the health safety protocols.

Dr Alexander Egotey, the Bono Regional Chairman of the Ghana Medical Association, said the AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine was safe and called on Ghanaians to take the vaccine.

He urged everybody, including those who would be vaccinated, to adhere to all the safety protocols and government restrictions to prevent the spread of the disease.

Dr. John Ekow Otoo, the Deputy Director Public Health at the Bono Regional Health Directorate, said every health facility in the region was empowered to handle COVID-19 suspected cases.

He advised the public to avoid self-medication and to visit health facilities when they fell sick.