Cynthia Morison presenting the items to Techiman Market queens
THE MINISTER for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Cynthia Mamle Morison, has warned parents not to take advantage of the school break due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak to force their children into trading activities.
She said they should rather find alternative study methods for their children to improve as they sit at home.
The minister gave the warning in Techiman in the Bono East Region when she met market queens and traders to sensitize them to the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to practise enhanced hygiene in the markets.
Addressing them as ‘trainees of trainers’, the minister said the country was facing difficult times, for which reason the President saw the need to suspend school activities, adding “it does not, therefore, mean you should use your children to trade; the law does not allow that.”
“You can be arrested and prosecuted if you engage your children in trading activities at these crucial times. You need to protect them and find alternative study methods for them,” she said.
The Gender Minister further taught the women various ways they could protect themselves and their children against the virus, especially as they ply their trade in the market.
The use of alcohol-based sanitizers, frequent hand washing with soap under running water, non-touching of face, nose and mouth, among other preventive measures, were explained to them.
She asked them to practise good hygiene and eat healthy food to boost their immune systems against the disease.
She told them that in the event that they could not afford sanitizers due to the escalating prices, they should use concentrated salt solutions to wash their hands which she said could also kill germs and viruses – agents of disease carriers.
The Minister for Regional Re-organization, Dan Kwaku Botwe, who was also part of the team, said the government had dispatched various teams to all the regions to assist the people in the fight.
He entreated the people not to stigmatize family members who returned from overseas but rather encourage them to avail themselves for check-up so the disease does not spread further.
“The President normally would not address the nation three times in a week and close down schools, borders, and churches. It has never happened before. We are not putting fears in you but want the good of every Ghanaian,” he stressed.
The Bono East Regional Minister, Kofi Amoakohene, enumerate various steps the regional coordinating council had put in place to check the disease.
danielyaodayee@yahoo.com
FROM Daniel Y Dayee,Techiman