President Nana Akufo-Addo is advising Ghanaians to device effective ways of living with the novel coronavirus following indications from the science community that the disease will be around for a long while.
The President said the outbreak of the virus must not cause a halt in Ghana’s development agenda.
He said citizens must take personal responsibility of their lives to ensure strict adherence to the various precautionary measures outlined by the Ghana Health Service as a sure way of protection.
Nana Akufo-Addo who was speaking at a meeting with the chiefs and elders of the Anlo Traditional Area of the Volta Region on Wednesday said social distancing, not shaking hands among other practices are the short to long term solution to stopping the spread of COVID-19.
“We are going through a very difficult time in our country that all of us are aware of. Nevertheless, it doesn’t mean that our lives must come to a stop. The virus is there, but we have to find a way to live with it. Ghana’s business must continue. As I have been saying, the most effective measure for us to deal with this virus is our own self-discipline, the protocols of hygiene, social distancing, not shaking hands, protecting ourselves, wearing the face masks etc. These are the short to long term solution to the proliferation of the virus,” Akufo-Addo said.
COVID-19 in Ghana
From two cases recorded in the second week of March 2020, Ghana as at 0600GMT on Thursday 21, 2020 has 6,269 COVID-19 cases out of which 1,898 have recovered and 31 dead.
The Greater Accra Region leads as the region with the most number of cases followed by the Ashanti and Central Regions.
Top 3 regions
Greater Accra Region – 4,582
Ashanti Region – 921
Central Region – 285
The government has introduced various measures to stop the spread of the virus including mandatorily quarantining some persons who arrived in the country from abroad as well as partially locking down parts of the Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions.
That restriction has since been lifted however, the government is strongly pushing for the wearing of face masks in public places and observation of social distance.
