We wish to ask that the various regions in the country adopt the measures announced by the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council as appropriate and effective means of halting COVID-19.
It will not be enough for the Greater Accra Region to implement the measures as announced when the other regions do not consider the inter-regional movements of people in the country.
It is not enough to announce such measures without the necessary bite. We expect, for instance, that people who walk the streets of our cities and towns are compelled to wear face masks, failure to do which should attract sanctions.
Many still do not react appropriately to the pandemic the way they should because they do not think it is worth it.
More must be done to create the necessary awareness that will trigger the attitudinal change required. While, of course, there is not a single person in the country unaware about the pandemic and what to do as a protective response, some are still reckless about the subject.
It is for this reason that both education and force are required to drum the subject in and to create the necessary deterrent.
The success or otherwise of the adherence to the President’s directives on COVID-19 depends on the MMDAs and for that matter individual Ghanaians.
The recklessness of one person or a group should not be allowed to inconvenience others. It is for this reason that we think that more stringent measures are taken to enforce the directives.
We were witnesses to how some decided to ignore the partial lockdown, a situation which had security personnel using force to have them comply. They carried on their daily routines, some of them irresponsibly as though nothing was amiss.
There is need to have Ghanaians understand the fact that although the lockdown has been reversed, the directives on social distancing, a key component of the restrictions, stand undiminished in importance.
We have been spared the unquantifiable inconvenience being suffered by others in other parts of the world as they are compelled to stay indoors. They have been doing that for the past month and still counting. The partial lockdown we endured was for only three weeks, a decision informed by our special circumstances; it could have been otherwise. Shouldn’t we therefore respect the directives in our own interest and as a reciprocal gesture to the President?
The Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council’s measures took effect immediately they were announced a couple of days ago, yet breaches are visible all over the nation’s capital.
Let us see what happens from Monday. The MMDAs should be held responsible for the implementation of the directives.
Law enforcement officers should be directed to inspect passenger vehicles for breaches of the wearing of face masks.