Nana Akufo-Addo, the President of the Republic of Ghana has expressed the great gratitude of the nation to the leadership and membership of the Ghana Health Service, to all other health workers, and to members of the COVID-19 task force for the outstanding work they have done in bringing Ghana this far.
He said from today, Monday, 28th March, the wearing of facemasks is no longer mandatory, but encouraged all Ghanaians, though, to continue to maintain enhanced hand hygiene practices, and avoid overcrowded gatherings.
The President in his address also announced revisions to other existing COVID-19 prevention measures.
The President said “I first came to your homes on Wednesday, 11th March 2020, five (5) days after our nation’s 63rd Independence Day celebration, a day before we recorded our first two (2) cases, with news of the measures Government was taking to limit the importation of the COVID-19 virus into the country. Even at that time, it was obvious to me, watching what was happening in Asia, Europe, and Latin America, that, if it was not well-managed, it would disrupt our lives and livelihoods.”
Nana Akufo-Addo said Since then, the Country has experienced four (4) waves of the outbreak, and One hundred and sixty-thousand, nine hundred and thirty-two (160,932) people have tested positive from the 2.4 million tests conducted, and one thousand, four hundred and forty-five (1,445) people have, sadly, died.
He said Ghana’s comprehensive strategy has entailed living with restrictions that altered our daily routine; we have been restrained from shaking hands and hugging one another; we have had to keep a distance from each other; we have had to put up with the discomfort of wearing face masks every time we left our homes; we have had to endure distress caused by the poking of our nostrils and throats with swab-sticks, each time we underwent a PCR or antigen test; we had to endure, for three weeks, the painful lockdown in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area and Kasoa and the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area and contiguous districts; and we have all borne the brunt of the ravages of the pandemic.
“As your President, I saw it as my duty to provide you with regular updates on the situation, the measures government is taking, and to seek your support and co-operation. That is why I have been a constant feature on your screens these past two years, in the addresses that have now become popularly referred to as “Fellow Ghanaians”, and I thank you for welcoming me so warmly into your homes.”
“You have listened to me, you have co-operated with Government and with the health experts, you have adhered to the enhanced hygiene and mask-wearing protocols, and a considerable number of you have taken the vaccine. I thank you for the opportunity you have given me to be your President in these difficult times. I do not take it lightly. The relative successes we have chalked in winning the fight against COVID-19 have been collective ones, which reinforce my belief that, if we are united, there is no obstacle or hurdle too high to surmount in our quest to build a progressive and prosperous Ghana.”
Source: Mybrytnewsroom.com/Kofi Atakora
