Dr Peter Quarshie, a senior research fellow and deputy director in charge of research at the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), has advised Ghanaians to continue to wear face masks when in crowded places, despite the loosening of pandemic measures.
Even though Ghana has low levels of COVID-19 infections, Quarshie said, the country should not let down its guard in maintaining measures to contain the virus.
Speaking to Beatrice Adu on The Big Bulletin on Monday (28 March 2022), Dr Quarshie said, “Even though there’s nothing to support enforcing mandatory face masks, I’ll still recommend that in large crowds, in public where there’s a lot of people, you wear your face mask, because you don’t know what might happen.
“We talk about omicron, but right now, omicron is about three variants. In the US, they had a mild variant which has now become a serious variant and we don’t know what is going to happen.
“… we haven’t had that serious variant in Ghana yet, so, that’s why we still have to keep monitoring and we still have to keep the surveillance going. I’ll recommend that it’s a personal decision [to wear face mask]; there’s no public health risk right now.”
Wearing a face mask is no longer mandatory
In his address to the nation on Sunday 27 March 2022, President Akufo-Addo announced that the wearing of face masks would no longer be mandatory.
Low levels of infection, coupled with the significant numbers of people who have been vaccinated, had informed his decision “to revise the COVID-19 restrictions”, the president said.
“With countries in the ECOWAS community, especially in our neighbouring countries, presently (like us) recording very low levels of infection, and having significant numbers of our people vaccinated, and on the advice of the national COVID-19 Task Force and the health experts, I have taken the decision to revise the COVID-19 restrictions, enacted under EI [Executive Instrument] 64,” the president said.
He added: “So, from Monday 28 March, the wearing of face masks is no longer mandatory. I encourage all of you, though, to continue to maintain enhanced hand hygiene practices and avoid overcrowded gatherings.”
Fellow Ghanaians, get vaccinated
President Akufo-Addo continued: “To my fellow Ghanaians who have not received the jab, I urge you to take it.
“To those listening to the propaganda by the conspiracy theorists and those who are still sceptical about the efficacy of the vaccine, it has been a year since my wife and I got vaccinated; it has not disrupted our physical well-being, nor has it caused us to be sick.
“We are, touch wood, hale and hearty, like the other 13.1 million Ghanaians who have been vaccinated,” Akufo-Addo said.
Nicholas Brown
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