Dr Titus Beyuo, the Deputy General Secretary of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), has asked President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to prove his words with actions as far as the fight against the coronavirus pandemic is concerned.
According to Dr Beyuo, the President should stop appealing to Ghanaians and rather ensure that there is strict enforcement of all the measures outlined to deal with the pandemic.
“He should back his words with actions. The President is a father. If he speaks it will be helpful, he should not appeal to Ghanaians. There should be enforcement”.
Dr. Beyuo
His comments come after the Director of Public Health at the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe revealed that President Akufo-Addo will soon address the nation again on the measures taken to deal with the pandemic.
Since Ghana recorded the first case of the delta variant, there have been calls on the President to address the nation.
Meanwhile, a ranking member of Parliament on the Health Committee, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh is surprised that the President has not spoken on the increasing rate of the infections.
Mr Akandoh Mintah criticized the government and stated that the government must be proactive and innovative in his dealings with the ravaging virus.
Kwabena Mintah Akandoh who is also lawmaker for Juaboso noted that “I have heard about the Ghana Medical Association and other institutions speaking and is a clear indication that there are a lot of people who are worried out there. What is clearly missing is the political direction. I recall the last time the President addressed the nation on COVID-19 was somewhere 28th of February when we recorded new variants but the President is quiet.
“The numbers are skyrocketing and President is quiet. It looks as if we have no plan in place, nobody is speaking to us. We need a clear direction from the Political head or the President as he consistently was addressing the nation on issues of COVID-19.”
Dr. Beyuo
Moreover, he suggested that he does not know whether or not it is because of the fact that the President himself is guilty of the COVID-19 protocols and “so that is probably what has occasioned his huge silence on developments so far.”
However, in a sharp rebuttal, Dr Asiedu Bekoe noted that Mr Akufo-Addo will soon address the nation.
He further revealed that celebrities, influencers and high profile chiefs are going to be used to campaign for adherence of coronavirus protocols especially the face mask wearing.
He stated that the time has come for this approach to be adopted in ensuring that the people comply with the measures.
“Some don’t wear the masks, the few that wear the mask, wear it wrongly. So in the next few weeks, our drive is to make sure to get the figures before August.
Dr. Asiedu
“We are going to have a very heightened campaign on promoting and enforcement of the mask wearing. Promotion in the use of influencers, the celebrities, the champions, high profile chiefs. The enforcement is going to be done in different levels.
“When you are going to sit in commercial transport (trotro) the station master must ensure that you have a mask before you sit, when you are going to the super market they must ensure you have the mask.”
Dr. Asiedu
Meanwhile, Ghana has recorded, cumulatively, over 100,250 cases of COVID-19 with 819 deaths since March 2020.
The Delta variant that has been detected in Ghana is reported to be currently concentrated in the Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions.
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