The Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah says the Ghanaian government is “very near” the point of deciding whether or not to declare a lockdown or any form of movement restriction in the country in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Minister in an interview with Accra-based Citi FM said the decision once taken, will show what measures Ghana will adopt to deal with the pandemic.

“We are very near a decision point and I am very sure that once that one is concluded, we will now have clarity on the path we are going,” he said.

Oppong Nkrumah said the government is being careful with the decision making process as it looks at all alternatives to determine the most appropriate to deal with the outbreak in the country.

“We are close to a decision point on the best model, and the optimal thing to do. So, that is not out of panic or emotion but it is directed by the science and data as we’ve done so far in guiding us to this point,” he said.

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He explained that although the President now has the legal backing to impose restrictions aimed at tackling the spread of COVID-19, such a decision will not be taken without any planned state action geared towards arresting the situation.

“We are considering more strict limitations of movement… The new Imposition of Restrictions bill we have now, gives the President power to narrow in and limit restrictions, but not restrictions for restrictions’ sake, but one that will allow us to do some more specific things like aggressive testing which will yield result,” he said.

Some Civil Society Groups and major stakeholders have clamored for a lockdown of the country.

The Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), which is at the forefront of testing for COVID-19 cases, called for a lockdown on human movement as another proactive solution to the escalation of the community spread of the COVID-19 in Ghana.

The biggest opposition party, National Democratic Congress (NDC) urged the government to speedily take the decision. The NDC argued that, the only realistic window of opportunity available to Ghana, to put in an effective mechanism to control the spread of the disease should be measured in days rather than weeks, as we race against time.