Executive Director for Bureau of Public Safety, Nana Yaw Akwada, has stated that his outfit continues to stand by their advice that the nation should continually remain in a partial lockdown and not otherwise as announced by President Akufo-Addo on Sunday.
"We still stand by our decision that the nation continue to remain in partial lockdown especially when the disease has moved from three to ten regions, and the increase in the number of cases," he said.
Speaking in an interview on UTV, he stressed that the government's reason for the three week lockdown has not be achieved so there was no need to lift the lockdown.
"Indeed the current reports in our country concerning COVID-19 cases does not match the current swift measures taken by the President.
"His reasons for uplifting the lockdown are not true and I do not know how they (President and his appointees) went about their research to warrant this decision," he said.
Mr. Akwada lamented that "President Akufo-Addo and his appointees have gambled in lifting the partial lockdown . . . this decision could cost the nation big time".
Bureau of Public Safety Calls For 21-Day Nationwide Lockdown
The Bureau of Public Safety (BPS), a research and advocacy institution on Saturday, April 11, appealed to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to consider a holistic 21-day nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19.
In a statement signed by Etornam Korda, Director, Research and Advocacy of BPS said: “if the country failed to take immediate bold and radical steps, all the good efforts applied so far will come to nought and eventually the country will be consumed by this ravaging novel virus."
According to the statement, the government should also expand testing sites across the 16 Regions within the shortest possible time.
It, therefore, called on Ghanaians to "join the call for the extension of restricted movement across the country and support government in these trying times."
Prez Lifts Partial Lockdown
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.
Source: Elizabeth Semiheva/Peacefmonline.com
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Where are all these experts coming from? Do they understand running a country? I am afraid this so so Bureau has no clue. Amazing in Ghana. Do they think money grow on trees? A country with nine Deaths should lockdown the country whereas countries with as many as 4,000 deaths have opened or trying to open. nkwasea s3m.
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
The president made the decision in the supreme interest of the poor and the vulnerable.Government and other philanthropist distributed food to the poor during the lockdown , but it was woefully inadequate to reach everyone . besides didn’t we see a lot of people going out during the lockdown, you people have enough to feed your families, so it easy for you to say the lockdown should have continued, how about the person who runs daily hand to mouth business. The truth is better to die of sickness than Hunger. We all saw the hardship faced by the Kayayei workers, is it not S3lfish to pass such comments. How many of you took time to visit the poor in your neighborhood.
Just because someone did not help you pay the bride price of your wife does not mean he can not comment on the beauty of your wife! One does not need to be intelligent to admit that the decision by the president was ill-advised. Let's reason practically: The president did admit there are still outstanding results of samples from the contact tracing that they did. This means the result could go either way-positive or negative. If all of them turn out negative(and this is unlikely) then we are safe. What if some turn out positive? Will you now go back to contact-trace all the people they would have had contact with during the easing of the restrictions? Let's not forget that some even carry the disease without showing symptoms yet still capable of transmitting to others. In South Korea 60% of their transmissions were attributed to one lady! And South Korea had one of the most effective(if not the best) strategy in combating the virus.If this does not scare anybody then I don't know what would! Anyway, the amount of complaints won't reverse the decision of the president but only time will be the best judge. Let us continue to protect ourselves and our families, colleagues and friends and all should endeavor to wear facial masks when out and about!
do you have what it takes to continue?lets be practical.
WHAT WAS YOUR CONTIBUTION TO THE POOR WHEN THEY WERE CRYING FOR HELP? EVERYTHING IS POLITICS WHY? THIS CHEAP POLITICS WILL NEVER BRING YOUR PARTY NDC TO POWER.
Where is this Bureau from? I’ve never heard of them. With all the motorbike accidents occurring in the country they’ve never uttered a word. This coronavirus has given too many people the opportunity to talk without knowledge.