Government is currently engaging traditional leaders to use some facilities in their communities as isolation centres for COVID-19 cases.
Addressing this concern, the Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, on Thursday noted that: “Some of the communities initially rejected the offer to have isolation centres or treatment centres put there, [but] the state is assisting those who seek to offer some of these facilities to engage the local communities, traditional rulers, influential persons etc so that we can get deeper cooperation and education.”
The Information Minister was speaking after the President of the Ghana Football Association, Kurt Okraku announced that the federation has handed over the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence to the government for use as isolation centre.
This follows a successful dialogue with the Chiefs and people of Prampram.
Initially, the plan to use the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence as an isolation centre was met with some resistance from the chiefs of Prampram.
But the GFA President said the FA had sat down with the town’s leaders to explain the plans to the community.
Similar protests over possible isolation centres occurred elsewhere with the Chiefs and people of Brafoyaw, a community in the Central Region, for example, kicking against the use of Aggrey Memorial Zion Senior High School as an isolation camp for COVID-19 patients.
The community felt such a facility would be a threat to their lives.
Also, Bishop Titi-Ofei, the General Overseer of the Pleasant Place Church, was forced to withdraw his offer of a 100-bed capacity structure to be used as an isolation centre for COVID-19 patients at Baatsona after protests by residents who live close to the donated building.
At the last official update from the Ghana Health Service, Ghana’s coronavirus case count had risen to 641 with eight deaths and 83 recoveries.
The Greater Accra Region has the most number of cases with 514 followed by the Ashanti Region has 53 and Eastern Region with 41.