The Medical Team of OccupyGhana has observed that the factor(s) driving the rising cases of COVID-19 are not letting up“and unless something drastic is done, the situation will get worse.”
The pressure group’s observations were contained in a press statement released last Tuesday.
Given the role of non-adherence to social distancing in the uptick of cases, the group demanded that government immediately ban all social gatherings till a marked drop in new cases is seen. This will include funerals, parties, church services, night clubs etc. In short, any gathering of more than ten people should be banned again.
On how the foregone will affect the recently reopened schools, the group stated that “it will therefore be imperative to explore expanding online classes, whether class sizes of those who cannot take online classes could be reduced to a maximum of ten, and shift systems introduced. For parents who must go to work, it is time for employers to begin conversations on ‘flexitime’, which breaks the day into three eight-hour cycles where parents could stay at home to supervise online classes and then report to work later in the day.”
Creativity, the group pointed out, should be employed during these times.
OccupyGhana was quick to observe however that“experience from last year showed that a general lockdown is not sustainable. A better alternative, we think, would be to identify and target the hotspots and at-risk groups and explore ways to modify their behaviour.”
“It is unfortunately evident that the social behaviour of those in the middle class is driving this new uptick in cases and deaths,” the statement noted, adding, “All efforts should be made to influence this behaviour and reverse this trend.”
Regarding the enforcement of the mask mandate,the group noted that it was also very important. “Masks have been shown to break the spread. We must enforce the terms of the Imposition of Restrictions Act, 2020 (Act 1012). However, we think that the punishments in the Act have hardly been applied. This is because although the prescribed fine of between GH¢12,000 and GH¢60,000 and/or imprisonment between four and 10 years might have been well-intentioned to be draconian and convey the seriousness of the situation, they have proven to be unrealistic. Parliament has to consider an amendment of the Act in this light, to aid its enforcement and to provide for realistic fines and other deterrents such as community service for those who breach the law.”
The statement called on the media to engage in the re-education of the public about the virus,“the myriad ways it can present and its short and long-term effects should be an exercise our media houses can help with. We are inviting electronic media houses to commit to air approved educational advertisements on the pandemic for a minimum cumulative period of one hour in every 24-hour cycle, over the next month. Print media houses may also commit to print one full-page advert three times a week.”
Another factor leading to the uptrend is the new variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, the group noted, but requests that “consideration should be given to reducing travel to and from countries where these variants are dominant.”
To all Ghanaians,OccupyGhana advises“even if you are one of those who will only get a mild case of COVID-19, the toll those who suffer the severe version exert on the health facilities ultimately lead to a situation where help for non-COVID conditions become very difficult or even impossible to obtain.”
By A.R. Gomda