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Drinking bars and pubs remain open in some areas in koforidua despite the ban on such facilities by government, as part of measures to contain the spread of the pandemic.

Ghana News Agency (GNA) observed that drinking bars/spots/pubs were operating with people patronizing, especially at nights, without adherence to the preventive protocols.

In all the seven drinking spots/bars visited, there was no provision for handwashing stations, clients and operators were not wearing any facemasks, no social distancing and nobody even ensured that the protocols were observed.

At betom, Srodae, Nyamekrom and the Railways, all suburbs in Koforidua, patrons at such facilities were seen gathered in numbers, drinking and chatting with no facemasks or any form of precautionary measures.

Some of the facility owners, GNA interviewed said they knew operating such facilities had been banned but their livelihoods depended on them and so could not close down.

When GNA asked why they were not enforcing the protocols at least to prevent the spread of the virus, some of them responded that they were in the process of providing the veronica buckets for handwashing.

President Akufo-Addo in his 23rd COVID-19 address to the nation ordered the ban on all pubs, nightclubs, drinking spots and bars as part of measures to curb the spread of the fast-spreading disease in the country.

The Eastern Region as at February 4, recorded 3,026 cases of coronavirus since March 2020, with about 98 new cases.