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President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has asked Ghanaians not to pay attention to 'fraudulent' persons who claim they have a cure for coronavirus.

He said the focus should rather be on practicing personal hygiene.

"We have a responsibility to help ourselves and each other...recommendations are for each one of us to practice basic persona hygiene and be extra careful with sanitation. Ministry of Health has advised, we have to revisit our custom of shaking hands and stop doing so completely and we must cover our mouth when we cough and sneeze. We should pray that the Almighty continue to shield us...it's also the time to pay attention to the health experts and reject all fraudulent claims for cure that will only threaten public health and safety" he urged.

Announcing what government has done so far in terms of preparations, President Akufo-Addo who was speaking at Ghana's 63rd Independence celebration said 5000 protective equipment have been distributed to health facilities nationwide. 

"In the early days of the outbreak, I constituted a high powered emergency response team to handle the crisis; they have been monitoring developments and reporting to me on a daily basis...5000 personal protective equipment for health workers have been procured and distributed to all regions and major health facilities, points of entry, teaching hospitals, treatment centers and selected health facilities...additional ones are being procured" he stated. 

According to him, "in the interim, non-essential travel into Ghana is being strongly discouraged from high-risk countries namely: China, Iran, Italy, Japan and South Korea

The 63rd-anniversary celebration was on the theme: “Consolidating our Gains”.

In attendance as Special Guest were Dr. Keith Rowley, the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago and his wife, as well as his royal majesty, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene and his wife.

The 42,000-capacity Baba Yara Sports Stadium was filled to capacity.