Adhere to COVID-19 protocols or face severe sanctions - Akufo-Addo warns

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Sunday, reminded Ghanaians that those who flout COVID-19 protocols will be punished, in accordance to the Executive Instrument passed to enforce safety measures.

The President expressed worry at the low compliance rate with mask-wearing of persons recorded in survey by the Ghana Health Service (GHS).

This, he reiterated that, enhanced hygiene, mask-wearing and social distancing protocols must now be “central features of our lives, and they must continue to remain so for some time to come, until we see to the elimination of the virus from the country.”

Due to this, President Akufo-Addo, in his 16th nationwide televised update on COVID-19 , warned that persons who flout these protocols will face severe sanction.

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He said the law enforcement agencies would, where necessary, apply these measures without fear or favour, ill-will or malice, and without recourse to a person’s ethnicity, gender or religion.

He, however, noted that since the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020, countries including Ghana had day-in-and-out, instituted measures to try to limit and contain the spread of the virus, and return lives to normalcy.

He said while some measures had been successful, others had not worked, with some countries now experiencing hikes in infection rates, and the emergence of what was referred to as a ‘second wave’ of the virus.

The President said with the effectiveness of Government policies, the co-operation of Ghanaians, and by the grace of God, the nation had been relatively spared these unwelcomed developments.

He stated that Ghana had continued to witness low hospitalization and low death rates since May 31, 2020, when Government decided to embark on a strategic, controlled, progressive, and safe easing of restrictions, to get lives and the economy back to normal in safety.

President Akufo-Addo, stated that as much as these statistics were encouraging, in contrast to what pertained in several countries globally, “We cannot afford to let our guard down. We have to maintain, in a state of constant readiness, the enhanced infrastructure and expertise we have built during the period of the virus to cope with it.”