The President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has issued a directive to the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, to make available $100 million to support Ghana’s preparedness plan towards coronavirus.

The president disclosed this, delivering an address to the nation on Wednesday, 11th March, 2020.

 According to President Akufo-Addo, the amount “is to fund expansion of infrastructure, purchase of materials and equipment, and public education.”

The President explained that, with the declaration of Coronavirus as a ‘pandemic’ by the World Health Organisation (WHO) makes it imperative that Ghana fortifies her preparedness plan in preparation for a possible hit within the country’s borders.

Already, all of Ghana’s immediate neighbours, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire and Togo, have recorded confirmed cases of infections, and countries like Italy, where there is a large population of Ghanaians, have escalated their response to the outbreak.

President Akufo-Addo noted that Ghana’s entry points continue to show satisfactory preparedness to screen all entrants into the country, with the Ministry of Health designating a quarantine facility that can hold infected persons, whilst regional hospitals are preparing isolation centres for holding suspected cases.

“Our country’s two main research institutions, the Noguchi Memorial Institute and the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research, which have the capacity to investigate and confirm or otherwise suspected cases of Coronavirus infections, have been very supportive in this regard. So far, they have found that the fifty-seven (57) suspected cases, as of today, Wednesday, 11th March, have proved negative,” he said.

 “I have, as at yesterday, ordered a suspension of all international travels by public officials. Except for critical assignments, which will have to be authorised by the Chief of Staff at the Office of the President, all public officials are to remain within the jurisdiction, until further notice. Video conferencing facilities and other technological tools are to be utilised, whenever possible, for international engagements” he added.

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Additionally, he revealed that he has instructed further enhancements of the protocols for in-bound traffic from already affected countries, and urged Ghanaians “as much as possible, desist from all foreign travels, except the most critical ones, until there is a grip on the virus.”

President Akufo-Addo opined that the Ministry of Information,  is leading a nationwide public education campaign on preventive measures that all Ghanaians must observe to ensure the control of the spread of infections, should the country record any infections.

He however appealed to Ghanaians and the media to help in the fight against coronavirus with latter charged to sensitize the public on ways to avoid being infected.

“This fight, fellow Ghanaians, cannot be that of Government alone. It is for all of us. I urge the media to join this cause fully, and help disseminate effectively information on the dos and dont’s of the disease. The information to be put out, however, must be that approved by health authorities, and not just from any piece of literature found on the internet, as false materials are already being spread from other jurisdictions,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo  also appealed to civil society organisations, schools, universities, faith-based organisations and places, which harbour large gatherings, such as classrooms, lecture halls, meetings, parties and funerals, to put in place mechanisms to caution and assist patrons on basic preventive measures.