The Ghana Police Service says it is engaging Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) across the country to help enforce by-laws on the wearing of nose mask.
The adherence to the preventive protocols has gone down drastically per statistics by the Ghana Health Service.
According to the GHS, non-adherence to the protocols has contributed significantly to the rise in active cases in the country.
Ghana’s current active case count stands at 4,665 cases per the latest update from the Ghana Health Service on Sunday, January 31, 2021.
This, the police service is hoping the MMDAs will complement efforts in curbing the spread of the virus.
The Director of Police Public Affairs, DSP Sheila Abayie Buckman is optimistic the engagements will be successful.
She explained that the assemblies are empowered with laws to ensure adherence to the COVID-19 protocols within their jurisdictions.
“In the Municipal and District Assemblies, we have started engaging to see how they can activate their bye-laws to ensure the enforcement of the wearing of mask as their bye-laws permit specifically to the regions, and we hope to see results soon.”
What are the sanctions for non-adherence?
The sanctions for not wearing face masks are contained in a new Executive Instrument (E.I. 164).
People who fail to wear face masks in public risk a prison sentence of four to 10 years or a fine ranging GHS12,000 to GHS60,000, or both.
Police to start random vehicle checks to ensure face mask compliance
The police had earlier indicated it will start random vehicle checks to ensure face mask compliance
At a press briefing on Thursday, the Director of Public Affairs, Supt. Sheila Abayie-Buckman said this was the next stage of police enforcement of the coronavirus safety protocols.
“For as long as we see two or more people in the vehicles, any police officer in uniform can stop you, look at whether you are wearing your mask properly. If not, you will be brought down,” she stated.
