COVID-19: President extends ban on public gatherings as cases reach 4,700

 GNA – The ban on public gathering has been extended to Sunday, May 31, 2020 to enable the government tackle the Coronavirus outbreak, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announced Sunday.

Thus, religious, political, sporting acticivites, as well as the holding of conferences, workshops, parties, nightclubs, drinking spots, beaches, festivals are prohibited until the end of the month.

Also, all educational facilities, private and public, are to remain closed, as funerals are banned, except for private burials conducted with not more than 25 persons.

In a national address to give an update on measures to contain the spread of the virus, President Akufo-Addo said the extension of the restrictions was essential to overcoming the pandemic and for the survival of the country.

He stressed that it was important to maintain the measures of enhanced hygiene and social distancing protocols to contain the spread of the virus “as they are the surest way to a quick return to a life of normalcy”.

Noting that the decision had the tacit approval of stakeholder bodies in the health, hospitality, labour, religious, chieftaincy, hospitality, educational, tourism and creative arts sectors, the President said they (stakeholders) were being engaged on the way forward to ease the restrictions to bring social and economic life to normalcy.

He stressed that in as much as he would love to see an end to the uncomfortable restrictions, “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.

“We do this not just for ourselves, but also to lessen the workload on our health workers, who continue to be at the forefront of caring for those affected by the virus, and caring for the sick in general,” the President stressed.

The President gave the assurance that government was working on measures to revive and strengthening the economy.

‘I am happy to reiterate that Government is putting in place a Resilience and Recovery Plan, with the overarching aim of finding more resources to strengthen the productive sectors of the economy to ensure sustained economic activity,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo reminded Ghanaians not to fall foul of the law in regard to the restrictions because the Police are arresting and prosecuting persons flouting the regulations irrespective of thier status in society,

“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.”

The President reiterated that “this virus, as we have seen the world over, is no respecter of persons, and has wreaked its havoc on every country on the planet, saying, “We can defeat it if we continue to look out for one another, and remain each other’s keeper.”

“We are fighting a common enemy, and it is imperative that we do not allow religious, ethnic or political differences to get in the way of 7 certain victory… So, we cannot allow a few persons, who wish to use these differences to scuttle our collective fight, to succeed,” he insisted.

Ghana’s case count as at Sunday, May 31, stood at 4700 infections from a total test of 160, 501 tests conducted 494 persons have so far recovered from the virus, with five persons critically ill whiles 22 succumbed to the disease.
GNA