Face Mask Made Compulsory

Ghana coronavirus: face masks made compulsory in Ghana

By Samuel Alfa
Last updated: 4 hours ago 

Ghana



April 23: Capital Accra to enforce wearing of masks
Days after a three-week lockdown was lifted on the capital Accra and two other metropolis, the Greater Accra Regional minister has announced a compulsory use of face masks in public.
An April 22 statement signed by minister Ishmael Ashitey said the regional coordinating council had met in an emergency meeting as part of efforts to enforce the president’s directives on social distancing and the wearing of masks.
Some of the measures agreed include the following: Mandatory wearing of face masks in public across the region, sensitization on the measure and on social / physical distancing by sub-regional authorities.



Sub-regional authorities to educate traders on the measures above, commercial drivers to only allow passengers with masks on board, “NO FACE MASK, NO ENTRY” signs to be posted outside public places like offices, lorry stations, shops, markets, malls, banks, pharmacies etc.
Satellite markets are also to be created to help decongest main markets and a temporary ban imposed on all “Special Market Days” in the region.
“
GHANA ??
 With immediate effect, everyone in the Greater Accra Region must wear face masks. pic.twitter.com/CKLNeqaRhi
— Gary #StayAtHome (@garyalsmith) April 23, 2020”
Tally hits 1,154 with 21 more recoveries
The coronavirus case count in Ghana has increased to 1154. Which indicates an increase of 112 new cases since the last tally was released on April 19 when the president lifted a partial lockdown.
The country has also recorded 120 recoveries. This was announced by the Ghana Health Service at a press briefing on Wednesday, April 22, 2020, in Accra.
Meanwhile, the presidential advisor on health, Dr Nsiah-Asare, has in an interview indicated that 10% of the Ghanaian population may probably test positive for the virus before the country’s case count on coronavirus gets to the peak of the infection. Ghana’s population is estimated at over 28 million.
A day after meeting members of the Ghana Medical Association, the president met with the Council of State – an advisory body of eminent leaders, to brief them on issues surrounding the COVID-19 fight.
Meanwhile, the capital Accra and capital of the resource-rich Ashanti region,Kumasi; breezed into life after the lifting of a three-week lockdown. The two areas along with Kasoa metropolis in the Central Region were locked down last month.
The lifting of the measure, the first across Africa, has since elicited exchanges over its propriety but the president defended the decision stressing that it was based on data and science and that it was to help cushion people in the informal sector.
April 21: President defends lifting of lockdown as opposition NDC kicks
President Akufo-Addo on Monday defended the decision of government to lift a partial lockdown on the capital and two other key metropolis in the West African country.
The president told member of the Ghana Medical Association, GMA, during a meeting at the presidency that data on testing and contact tracing along with treatment of confirmed cases informed the decision announced on Sunday, April 19.
He also stressed that a crucial plank of the economy, the informal sector, were also a major factor to the decision, which has so far divided opinion in the country.
He said in part: “we are also looking at the demography of the disease itself, in terms of the sick, in terms of death.
“What we will like to do, as decision makers, is to balance all these factors and to come to a conclusion and a set of solutions that will benefit our people and of course, protect the economy of our country. All of these have been the basket of issues that have led us to take this decision.”
As President of the Republic, he continued: “I cannot ignore the impact that this lockdown is having on several constituencies of our nation, especially the informal workers, a very important part of our economy, who need to have a day out in the market or otherwise in order to provide for their families, who were having a lot of difficulty.”
The GMA leadership said they were ready to play their part in ensuring that Ghana beats the virus. There has been a series of reactions to the lifting of the lockdown across a broad section of the society.
The Trade Union Congress voiced support for the lifting of the measure. Head of a think tank, the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research, also voiced backing for the move. People jubilated in parts of the country when the lockdown was lifted.
The main opposition National Democratic Congress, NDC, is however unhappy at the development with its spokesman accusing the president of not valuing the lives of Ghanaians at a time when confirmed cases continued to rise.
Meanwhile, the NDC’s current leader and former president John Dramani Mahama continues his food distribution efforts in the Greater Accra Region. Mahama has also made donations to to a number of public hospitals across the country.
One of the country’s renowned pathologists, Prof Agyemang Badu Akorsah, bemoaned the lifting stressing that conditions pointed to the need for the lockdown to have been extended