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President Nana Akufo-Addo has applauded the Ghana Police Service for arresting and prosecuting persons who flout his directives.

The President bemoaned the recalcitrant behaviour of some Ghanaians who don't see the seriousness of the bigger problem confronting the nation.

"We cannot allow a few persons, for their narrow, selfish interests, to jeopardise the health, well-being and safety of the larger population. If you fall foul of the law, you will face its full rigours," he said in his ninth nation address to the nation on Sunday.

President Akufo-Addo acknowledged that the restrictions on public gatherings have altered the lifestyles of Ghanaians but they should be rest assured it won't be a permanent feature of their lives, therefore calling on the citizenry to comply with the preventive protocols against COVID-19 and also obey the ban on public gatherings.

"Fellow Ghanaians, I, like you, would love to see an end to these restrictions. I know the difficulties each and every one of you has been through over the last two months. You have had to alter completely your way of life; you have had to stay at home, except for specified purposes; you cannot travel outside the country; you cannot go to Church, and you had to cancel activities usually associated with Easter; in this Holy Month of Ramadan, our Muslim brothers and sisters are having to pray at home, instead of congregating at the Mosque, and foregoing the public celebration of the Eid; parents are having to bear the extra burden of providing care for their children who, instead of being in school, are currently at home; operators of trotros, taxis, buses, markets, hotels, restaurants, bars and nightclubs have lost the patronage of their clients, and, as a result, lost much needed incomes; significant numbers of people have, unfortunately, lost their jobs because of the impact of the virus on our economy; most of us want to hang out with our families, friends and loved ones in a social setting, but cannot.

"Uncomfortable as these restrictions have been, we have no option but to stay the course. We can only guarantee the safety of each other if we continue to adhere to them. As I have said before, these restrictions cannot and will not be a permanent feature of our lives, and, shortly, I hope to announce the steps for, systematically, easing the restrictive measures to bring us back to normality. Each one of us, however, can help to speed up this process if we continue to practice the measures of social distancing, washing our hands with soap under running water, refraining from shaking hands, and, wearing our masks whenever we leave our homes. These measures must be respected by all," he said.

He backed the actions of the Police Service in enforcing the directives.

"It is noteworthy that the Police are arresting and prosecuting persons, irrespective of their status in society, who flout these regulations," he added.