A two-week partial lockdown will be imposed in Ghana as on Monday March 30 under the Imposition of Restrictions Act, 2020 (Act 1012) to combat the Coronavirus pandemic nationwide.
In a televised broadcast on Friday night, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said that he was imposing restriction on movement of persons in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA, which include Awutu Senya East which is a municipality in the Central Region , Kumasi Metropolitan Area and contiguous districts, for a period of two (2) weeks or 14 days subject to review.
This means that everyone residing in these areas must stay at home for the next two weeks or 14 days with the exception of the media, members of parliament, electricity companies, among other key stakeholders.
Only essential movements are tolerated, such going out for food, water, medicine, banking transactions, or public toilet facilities. But, as much as possible, people are advised to stay at home.
There shall be, during this period, no inter-city movement of vehicles and aircraft for private or commercial purposes for the areas of the restrictive measures, except for vehicles and aircrafts providing essential services and those carrying cargo.
He continued that riders of motorbikes are not allowed to carry any additional person, and all intra-city passenger vehicles, such as intra city commercial vehicles ( trotros) and taxis, must reduce the number of passengers in order to observe appropriate social distancing and hygiene protocols.
All commercial vehicle stations shall observe appropriate hygiene protocols and social distancing.
Also, individuals and institutions providing the following services shall be exempted from the restrictions. Members of the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary, production, distribution and marketing of food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, medicine, paper and plastic packages.
Environmental and sanitation activities, Volta Aluminum Company (VALCO) staff, Road and Railway construction workers, mining workers, fisher folk, members of the security agencies assigned lawful duties, the staff of electricity, water, telecommunications, e-commerce and digital service providers, and fuel stations staff are also exempted from the lockdown.
The Trade Unions Congress (TUC), Ghana Medical Association (GMA) and Nugouchi Institute of Medical Research which is noted for testing suspected Covid-19 patients have all agitated for total lockdown of the country to avert communal spread of the deadly disease.
Meanwhile in declaring the partial lockdown President Nana Akufo-Addo announced the establishment of a special fund to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
He therefore encouraged the general public to donate to the coronavirus fund to help halt the increasing cases of infections in the country. He said former Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo, is to oversee the setting up of the special fund.
President Nana Addo added that he has directed the Controller and Accountant General to deposit his three months’ salary, including April, May and June, as seed money for the Coronavirus fund.
The partial lockdown comes following 141 recording Covid-19 cases with five (5) deaths as at Saturday.
DAP/Dng/APA