President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will be addressing the nation tonight (17 January 2021) to announce measures aimed at ensuring strict enforcement of all COVID-19 prevention protocols across the country.
The president is expected to also be charging the country’s security agencies to get back to strict enforcement of the protocols as established by law. This, if confirmed, may mean the strict enforcement of the wearing of nose masks in the open and especially in commercial vehicles and buses by both passengers and drivers.
It is expected that the president will call on the security agencies to ensure that passengers and drivers who do not wear their masks are apprehended and dealt with in accordance with the law.
In recent times, night clubs and bars in some parts of the country have played host to large gatherings in blatant disregard for all the laid down COVID-19 protocols. As part of measures targeted at arresting these super-spreader gatherings, President Akufo-Addo may authorize the security agencies to raid such defaulting night clubs and bars who are breaking the laws on COVID-19 prevention and to stop their activities.
Reopening of schools
On the subject of the reopening of schools, the president is anticipated to appeal to pupils, students and teachers alike to ensure full compliance with all COVID-19 safety protocols while in school.
Meanwhile, parents across the country have raised concerns about the recent decision of the president to reopen schools as against the sudden rise in COVID-19 cases in the country. Some have gone ahead to call on the president to reconsider his decision to order the reopening of all schools. Asaase News has, however, not yet picked any hint that the president will reverse the decision to reopen schools.
Ghana’s battle with the novel corona virus, COVID-19, began in March 2020, when the first cases of the pandemic were recorded in the country. Over the period, the country has recorded a total of 57,714 cases, according to the Ghana Health Service web portal on the pandemic (www.ghanahealthservice.org/covid19).
Recoveries from the virus stand at 55,592 with the death toll now at 346. Currently, the total number of active cases in the country stands at 1,776.
Wilberforce Asare
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