Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has disclosed that a billboard communicating the importance of wearing a face mask which also features the president without a face mask will be pulled down.
The Minister, however, asked persons wanting to help in educating Ghanaians on the coronavirus to engage the government to avoid mishaps.
“We appreciate all who seek to help the government communicate at this time. But please do well to engage with the government on imaging and messaging. This billboard of the President without a mask is not from the government. Note that at his last public appearance the President wore his masks till his speech. We have asked city authorities to pull this down.” he said in a tweet.
“We encourage the well-intentioned advertisers to engage with us directly to avoid such mishaps in the future,” Mr. Oppong Nkrumah added.
Health Ministry directs compulsory wearing of nose masks in public
The government has been urging Ghanaians to be in face masks when in public to prevent contracting COVID-19 and also to help curb the spread of the outbreak in the country.
The Ministry of Health (MoH) had earlier directed food vendors, commercial vehicle drivers, commuters on public transports, and every other facility accessible to the public have to be in face masks.
This order was in compliance with the Public Health Act according to the Health Ministry.
“Pursuant to section 169 of the Public Health Act, 2013 (Act 851), the Minister responsible for Health by an Executive Instrument (E.I.61) declared COVID-19 a public health emergency. Section 170 (1) provides that the Minister of Health may order an individual to take a preventive measure in respect of public health matters,” it said.
Regional breakdown of virus spread
The Greater Accra region still leads as the region with the highest number of confirmed cases followed by the Ashanti Region and the Eastern Region.
- Greater Accra Region – 1,852
- Ashanti Region – 117
- Eastern Region – 87
- Central Region – 21
- Oti Region – 19
- Upper East Region – 19
- Volta Region – 16
- Northern Region – 13
- Upper West Region – 10
- Western Region – 9
- Western North Region – 4
- North East Region – 2
