Churches, Mosques in Ghana to Reopen from June 5

The ban on religious activities following the COVID-19 outbreak in Ghana has been eased.

The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo during a televised nationwide address on Sunday [May 31, 2020], directed religious activities to commence, beginning June 5, 2020.

He however mentioned that only a maximum of 100 persons in a church or mosque, will be allowed.

“As I stated in my May Day address, I’m now in a position to outline the roadmap for easing safely the restrictions. Ours is going to be a fazed approach involving a selective list of public gatherings based on the risk profile, socio-economic effect, and most importantly, our capacity to enforce, respond, and prevent a flare-up in our number of infections.

"With effect from Friday, 5th June, we will begin stage one of the process of easing restrictions. An abridged format for religious services can commence. Twenty-five percent attendance with a maximum number of congregants can worship at a time in church or mosque with the mandatory one-meter rule of social distancing between congregants,” he noted.

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The ban on all public gatherings was declared by President Akufo-Addo on March 15, 2020, in a televised broadcast for one month and was subsequently extended till May 31. The ban affected conferences, workshops, funerals, festivals, political rallies, church activities, and other related events as part of measures to stop the spread of coronavirus in the country.

In a related development on the ease of COVID-19 induce restrictions, the president has given the green light for Schools in Ghana to reopen solely for final year students.