Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey, has revealed that assemblies and districts have been encouraged to educate people to adhere to COVID-19 safety protocols.
According to him, the spike in the new variant in the country has necessitated calls to ensure the resuscitation of strict adherence to protocols by security agencies.
His comments follow the enforcement of COVID-19 protocols and also the tasking of municipal and district assemblies to conduct inspection at beaches and other public facilities.
Mr Quartey further explained that the double approach of education and penalties meted out to offenders who flout the protocols are intended to ensure compliance.
“We are aware that there’s a third variant and we only have to activate the existing protocols. Now, we have directed that the security and intelligence agencies to begin to enforce or ensure strict compliance of this COVID safety protocols.
“Every act [and] laws in this world have areas of penalties and we all know the penalties when one breaches the COVID safety protocols that will be applied. Indeed, it should be in conformity or guided by what the law prescribes when there’s an offence. But as much as possible, the assemblies have been encouraged to try and educate the people more than using the brute force”.
Mr Henry Quartey
Sensitization on safety protocols by assemblies
Recounting the previous enforcement of the safety protocols by security agencies when the virus first entered the country, Mr Quartey noted that the assemblies play a central role in ensuring compliance to the directives.
“If you recall, the last time we did it, all the assemblies were tasked… and these bodies represent the security structure of the local governance at the district [level]. Once they do that, they educate the people, bring the awareness, they sensitize the place and they ensure that enforcements are done.
“So, all we are saying is that, what we did some months ago that the beaches and all that were closed, we want to revisit that. The President has given clear directives as to how things should go; strict compliance to the safety protocols and all that. We are not reinventing the wheel.
“We’ll see the security and intelligence agencies working together with the assemblies”.
Mr Henry Quartey
Ghana Health Service roll out plan
Touching on the roll out plan for the directive implementation, Director for Health Promotions at GHS, Dr Dacosta Aboagye, advised those at the district level to see to the comprehensive implementation of the protocols.
“We from the Ghana Health Service have engaged extensively. We believe that the regional security council across the country with the district public health emergency system should obviously take the enforcement to the next level.
“We continue to engage to ensure we have full compliance. For behavior change, we are looking at three levels, we from the Ghana Health Service will give the awareness, education and sensitization…
“Now, the second level is the responsibility bit which we have come up with a strategy as well, which is the peer-to-peer responsibility strategy. The third tier is where we have the regional coordinating councils and their assemblies supporting us in achieving total compliance”.
Dr Dacosta Aboagye
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