Akufo-Addo to reopen schools in crucial address tonight
- President Akufo-Addo will be addressing the nation on Covid-related issues
- The reopening of schools will feature in his address tonight
- Ghana is readying for a new deadlier and contagious strain of the coronavirus
President Akufo-Addo will at 8pm address the nation on recent measures taken by his administration to curb the spread of the Coronavirus Pandemic.
The president’s address follows a gradual surge in Covid-19 cases from the lead-up to the 2020 elections till January.
Deep-throat sources in government have told YEN that the president will, in his address, reopen all schools from the second week of January. He will also condemn the flouting of covid-19 protocol by revelers and other hospitality companies.
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Already, the Ghana Tourism Authority closed a bar at Sakumono beach and cautioned managers to take urgent steps to stop revelers from swimming there.
Source: Facebook
The Authority in an operation code named 'Operation Covid-19 Beaches', also commended mangers of Labadi and LaPalm Beaches for enforcing the protocol on beaches by using Military and private security to prevent revelers from swimming.
The operation, according to the authority was necessitated by recent blatant disregard for the president's directive that beaches should remain closed.
Holiday revelers massed up in their numbers at the Sakumono beach in Accra for what obviously looked like a fun time out.
This falls in sharp contravention to the public order by President Akufo Addo that all beaches and pubs remain closed as Ghana battles the spread of the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Pictures from Adom FM showed the revelers in their numbers having a fun time swimming and dancing to music.
Source: Facebook
The major task ahead for Ghana’s infectious disease center will be to trace and track if the new contagious variant of Covid-19 is in the country.
This new variant of the deadly virus, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), is more contagious than the Coronavirus the world is battling.
Already, South Africa has been the first African country to record a case of this new strain of the virus. Nigeria is the latest to have recorded its first case.
Speaking on CitiFM on Ghana’s preparedness, Director of Public Health at the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe, revealed that aggressive testing is currently underway to determine whether Ghana has any case.
He believes any case will be readily monitored and tracked especially when Ghana has one of the best test and trace regimes in Africa.
Meanwhile, Ghana is expected to roll out a mass vaccination program against Covid-19 in June of 2021. Medical experts revealed on Joy News’ Newsfile program that the ministry of health is currently in the procurement stage of millions of doses.
Source: Getty Images
Even though Ghana has outlined strategic interventions to check the spread of the Coronavirus, enforcement has been very weak across the country. The Ghana Medical Association has condemned what it described as “the indiscipline by Ghanaians to adhere to safety protocols against Covid”.
Many Ghanaians go about their business without a face covering. The sale and purchase of hand sanitizers have also dropped as though the virus has been completely defeated in the Sub Region.
Cases keep getting recorded, especially in Accra. A recent graphical presentation of the spread of the virus shows a spike in the first and second weeks of December.
Presently, Ghana’s new reported case stands at 62 as at the 14th of December. Infectious disease experts at the Ministry of Health fear the cases could spike by January 1.
Ghana’s Covid-19 cases have been on the rise since October, with daily case counts spiking in the tens. Disease experts from the University of Ghana project that over 1 million Ghanaians have the virus - despite recent cases being over 45,000.
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Meanwhile, President Akufo Addo has assured of Ghana’s preparedness to roll out a mass vaccination program against Covid-19. Speaking at his recent Covid-19 address, the president revealed that procurement processes are far advanced to secure millions of vaccine doses in 2021.
This assurance comes as Nigeria, Ghana’s next door neighbor, has recorded a new case of the Covid-19 variant which global scientists fear is more contagious than the Covid-19 we know.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
