GhanaHealthNews

Government considering COVID-19 inspection regime for workplaces

The Information Minister, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, said the move is to enable the government to take drastic action against those breaching the COVID-19 protocols

Ghana News Agency (Accra) ā€“ Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Minister of Information, said on Thursday that the government is considering a special inspection regime for workplaces to enable it to take drastic action against those who are breaching the anti-COVID-19 protocols.

He said while the government was living up to its expectation by putting in place all the necessary safety measures against the pandemic, it required that every citizen play a responsible role of adhering to all the protocols.

These include frequent handwashing, wearing of face masks and observing social distancing rules.

Speaking at the Ministry of Informationā€™s COVID-19 update press briefing in Accra, Oppong Nkrumah said it was very worrying that a large number of people, especially those living in cosmopolitan areas, were still refusing to adhere to the mandatory protocols.

These unhealthy attitudes, he said, were partly to blame for the current increases in daily infections recorded in hot-spot communities across Ghana, and also at workplaces.

Maintain and enforce strict adherence

Oppong Nkrumah said the more worrying trend was that a majority of the new cases being recorded now are workplace-related. People could be catching the infection from either hot spots or work and spreading it, hence the need to tighten the ā€œknots at both endsā€ to curtail the source of the virus.

As such, the minister advised all management of institutions to maintain and enforce strict adherence to all the COVID-19 protocols, with a special emphasis on frequent washing of hands with soap under running water, social distancing and wearing of face masks within the work environment.

He encouraged managers to sustain education on the disease at their workplaces and ensure spacing in offices while abiding by the rules to frequently cleanse door knobs, surfaces and washrooms to prevent the spread of the virus.

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Oppong Nkrumah stressed that COVID-19 was real and was very deadly. It had infected more than twelve million people globally, he reminded the audience, and killed more than half a million.

He advised those who did not still believe in the existence of the virus to begin to change their perception and behave responsibly to save themselves and others.

ā€œOur best bet is to ensure that while the government is doing what is needed to be done, citizens will also respond to the rule put in place,ā€ he said.

Responding to a question about whether the government has been overwhelmed by the disease, Oppong Nkrumah said it has not, but remains committed to addressing all the challenges. He cited the recent shortage of test kits, which is being solved.

The government is living up to its responsibilities and expects all other citizens to be responsible for their actions and decisions in order to win the fight, the minister said.

The Ghana Health Service reported on 10 July that the country had recorded 641 new cases of COVID-19, bringing Ghanaā€™s cumulative total of infections to 23,463.

With 18,622 clinical recoveries and 129 deaths, the active case count now stands at 4,712. Of these, 26 people are severely ill, eight in a critical condition and six on ventilators.

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Source
Ghana News Agency
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