The Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu has observed with dismay the manner in which sections of the public are not complying with the directive to wear face masks.
Stressing on the use of nose masks while addressing the media on Tuesday, he appealed to Ghanaians to abide by all the required protocols to curb the further spread of the pandemic.
“There are those of us who don’t have [money]. We need some [of the masks] to wear so that the President will know we are listening to his advise. The idea of ‘I don’t have money to buy’ should not be an excuse for anybody. We see people in the middle of the street begging for money. So that money you are begging for, use some to buy the mask. Some cannot be worn on several occasions. We call them disposables. When you wear it and take it off, you throw it away. It’s not many of us that can wear that one. But the ones they are sewing in Ghana are reusable but before you reuse, you have to wash it, disinfect and iron it,” he stated.
Compulsory wearing of face masks
Food vendors, commercial vehicle drivers, commuters on public transports, and every other facility accessible to the public have been subjected to compulsory wearing of nose masks, following the constant increase in the number of cases of COVID-19 in the country.
This order, which is in compliance with the Public Health Act, was given in a statement issued by the Ghana Health Service on behalf of the Minister of Health.
“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.
The statement continued, “The Minister of Health thereby directs the use of face masks in all public places where it may be difficult to maintain social distancing. The general public is encouraged to wear a mask or face covering when going out whether sick or not or attending to a sick person.”
Ghana at its peak
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) says the country has reached its peak in terms of COVID-19 infections.
According to the Director of Public Health at the Service, Dr. Badu-Sarkodie, the number of cases will start declining depending on how well citizens abide by the prevention protocols.
At a press briefing in Accra on Tuesday, Dr. Badu Sarkodie said officials are keenly monitoring the numbers regarding the case count.
“We realize that with a sharp rise and the cases that we have, we see that as a country we seem to be on top of the peak. We are at the stage to decline. That is the observation now. The declination will depend on how we adhere to the various preventive steps that have been enumerated. We are not out of the woods yet. We are at the peak of the curve, but yet to come down, and we urge Ghanaians to adhere to the preventive measures put in place so that we can see an early decline in infections,” he said.
On Monday, May 5, 2020, 550 new cases were announced which took the national case count of confirmed cases to 2,719.
There are also 294 recoveries and 18 deaths.
