President Nana Akufo-Addo has lifted the three-week partial lockdown imposed in the Greater Accra and Greater Kumasi districts with effect from 1 am Monday, 20th April 2020.
This is in spite of the country's Coronavirus case count having increased to 1,042. Total samples tested so far stands at 68,591 with 1.5 % testing positive.
President Akufo-Addo announced this during his seventh address to the nation on the outbreak today, Sunday, April 19, 2020.
Reasons For Lifting Lockdown
According to him, the main reason the country has seen an increase in the number of confirmed cases over the last three weeks is because of the decision to aggressively trace and test contacts of infected persons.
“This has enabled us to identify and isolate infected persons, protect the population from further infections, and contain better the spread of the virus,” he said.
The President continued, “Indeed, Ghana is the only other country in Africa to have conducted more than 60,000 tests, and we are ranked number one in Africa in administering of tests per million people”.
“....in view of our ability to undertake aggressive contact tracing of infected persons, the enhancement of our capacity to test, the expansion in the numbers of our treatment and isolation centres, our better understanding of the dynamism of the virus, the ramping up of our domestic capacity to produce our own personal protective equipment, sanitisers and medicines, the modest successes chalked at containing the spread of the virus in Accra and Kumasi, and the severe impact on the poor and vulnerable, I have taken the decision to lift the three-week-old restriction on movements in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area and Kasoa, and the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area and its contiguous districts, with effect from 1 am on Monday, 20th April,” he explained.
Observe Protocols
Although the lifting of the restrictions may come as a relief to the many whose livelihoods may have been hit hard following the imposition, access to some major sectors remains restricted.
Th country’s borders remain closed.
Further to these, all other measures including social distancing are also to be adhered to.
Additionally, suspension of public gathering including religious meetings, still stands; likewise the closure of all educational facilities.
Source: Peacefmonline.com
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Leaked cabinet memo indicates that only two things led to this decision - Voters Registration and poor economy
THE HARM OF THE GENERAL LOCKDOWN IN KUMASI AND ACCRA WEIGHS FAR MORE THAN EASING IT. WE GET VERY DISTURBING CROWDS IN GIVING OUT FOOD TO THE NEEDY. THIS DEFEATS THE PURPOSE OF KEEPING AWAY FROM OTHERS TO AVOID THE SPREAD OF INFECTION. BESIDES, MANY STILL DO NOT GET FOOD TO EAT. THREE OR TWO GHANAIANS HAVE DIED FROM ENFORCING THE LOCKDOWN. SOME INTENTIONALLY MAKE NONSENSEEE OF THE LOCKDOWN. THEY TELL LIES TO THE POLICE AND THE SOLDIERS AND GIVE ALL KINDS OF FRIVOLOUS EXCUSES. THEY MAKE THE WORK OF ENFORCING THE LOCKDOWN VERY DIFFICULT. LIFE GENERALLY HAS BECOME DIFFICULT FOR MANY. IT MUST BE ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THE LIFTING OF LOCKDOWN DOES NOT TAKE AWAY THE OTHER RESTRICTIONS AND PRECAUTIONS. ALL STILL NEED TO OBSERVE THE BAN ON PUBLIC GATHERINGS, SOCIAL DISTANCING, STAY HOME, KEEPING AWAY FROM OTHERS, WEARING FACEMASKS AND GLOVES, HANDS WASHING AND SENSITIZING AND MANY OTHER PRACTICES. MANY THINGS WERE CONSIDERED AND COMPARED TO REACH THE DECISION TO LIFT THE LOCKDOWN. EVERY CHOICE IN LIFE HAS ITS GOOD SIDE AND BAD SIDE. ONE HAS TO EVALUATE ALL THE ISSUES INVOLVED TO DECIDE ON THE LESSER EVIL. THE DECISION OF THE GOVERNMENT TO LIFT THE BAN IN KUMASI AND ACCRA AND THEIR SURROUNDING IS ADVISED BY THE PROFESSIONALS AND THE EXPERTS IN THE COUNTRY AND ABROAD WHO ARE WELL-INFORMED IN THE MATTERS RELATING TO THIS GLOBAL CRISIS. WE MUST DO OUR BEST AS GHANAIANS TO COOPERATE WITH OUR LEADERS TO BECOME SUCCESSFUL IN THIS FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19. THE GROWING NUMBER OF CASES IN GHANA RESULTS FROM THE MASSIVE TESTING ACROSS THE NATION, WHICH IS SO FAR THE LARGEST IN AFRICA. THE NINE DEATH IS AN EVIDENCE TO THE EFFORT BY THE GOVERNMENT AND MANY IN THE COUNTRY. WE MUST COUNT OURSELVES BLESSED AND THANK GOD. POP
Akuffo addo is a complete f uuuuu1. He is just a waste of time
Its not idle talk when some of us say Akuffo addo is a don key merrr. When cases have sky rocketed to over thousand. Akuffo is a plain ***barred word***
lets pray and hope
Ghanaians object to everything. Hence he's decided to lift the lockdown and go for herd immunity. If you think you are not safe by going outside then use your initiative and stay indoors. Survival of the fittest !
Hmmm Ghana so what happen to the distribution of food to the vulnerables? I believe that's the main reason why the covid 19 fund is made for . Or ? And if I must ask again that , why the president did not tell us yesterday about how much money we have gotten so far in the fund ? No chop chop this time oo
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Nana you've down so well in your handling of the covid-19 but this decision to lift the partial ban, I beg to differ. You have bowed to the pressures from your mischievous opponents plus the naive ones complaining but they will be the very people to crucify you should things get out of hands. Nana come again
I had lost all hope in NPP until this outbreak, and then I have realised the NDC is still the greedy, self centered, myopic bigots. Those who are complaining, how much money did you contribute to the fund, and particularly Agartha how much did you contribute? You people came to chop chop for 8yrs, be patient and let another group also do the choping. Your time will surely come again but for now we are in a serious crises so do away with your f000l1sness unfortunately the majority of people complaining for and about food are your members. Let your covid theme train them on how to protect themselves. The government cannot do all