Dr. Justice Boakye Appiah, a medical practitioner and a clinical research fellow in infection and immuno-vaccinology has intimated that, the ban placed on gatherings by the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, should have been done some few weeks ago to curb the spread and the surge of the virus.
He stated that, he was expecting the President to ban all public gatherings initially, but does not know what stalled it, to it now being implemented.
Speaking on if the nation is at a place where we can overcome the pandemic after the President gave his update on the measures taken against the virus, he indicated that, Ghana at the initial stages of the virus spread started very well with a formidable plan but lost its wings along the line.
Dr. Appiah then averred that, the nation seems to have been on top of the issue for a while till the elections and December came with its festivities and urged that, we go back to what we have been doing in the past like the President said.
“We do know the right things to do so, if we are to go back it will help. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel. We just have to go back to all the things we use to do. We lost track clearly and we ended up at where we are at the moment. So, if we go back to disciplining ourselves, I think we can get back on top of issues.”
He further revealed that, the situation at hand was very precarious and if the nations do not go back to adhere to instructions as ordered by the President, we might be heading to a point of no return.
Commenting on the number of cases and the sudden rise, Dr. Appiah stated that, the figures reported might be more, buttressing it with the fact that, more people might not have tested and are at home treating the virus as other sicknesses. He then lauded the President for the directive to make the COVID-19 test free to Ghanaians and asked for more testing centres.
“We are not testing enough, people are also not coming forward to get tested for the virus and are treating it as malaria, fever and the rest. I am very certain the figures are more than this.”
Touching on the calls for lockdowns, he disclosed that, it was very expensive due to the fact that Ghanaian populace was dominated by a large number of people in the informal sector, which the government would have to cater for, if there should be one. He then urged all Ghanaians to adhere to safety measures to help fight the virus.
The President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has placed a ban on funerals, weddings and concerts as part of efforts to help mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking during the 23rd update on measures taken against the virus, he made this announcement, positing that, the nation has a lot of work to do in coming to terms with the disease given the new variants that are being transmitted within the population.
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