Update No. 16: Measures taken against spread of Coronavirus
As at Friday, 28th August, the number of active cases had reduced to one thousand, and fifty-nine (1,059) persons.
A total of forty-two thousand, nine hundred and sixty-three (42,963) persons have recovered, and two hundred and seventy-six (276) persons, a great majority of them with underlying illnesses, such as hypertension, diabetes and chronic liver disease, have sadly died.
The President cautioned everyone to maintain, in a state of constant readiness, the enhanced infrastructure and expertise built during the period of the virus to cope with it.
The high compliance rate with mask wearing of persons surveyed by the Ghana Health Service in some selected areas of Accra has according to a new survey by the same Service, fallen alarmingly. “This is not acceptable, as the enhanced hygiene, mask wearing and social distancing protocols must now be central features of our lives, and they must continue to remain so for some time to come, until we see to the elimination of the virus from our country.”—The President admonished!
The law enforcement agencies will, where necessary, apply punitive measures without fear or favour, ill-will or malice, and without recourse to a person’s ethnicity, gender or religion, to persons who will endanger the rest of the population through their actions and negligence.
The Kotoka International Airport will reopen and resume operations from Tuesday, 1st September 2020.
The following measures have been taken and duly communicated to airlines wishing to resume flights to Ghana:
a. any passenger arriving in Ghana must be in possession of a negative COVID-19 PCR test result from an accredited laboratory in the country of origin. The test should have been done not more than seventy-two (72) hours before the scheduled departure from the country of origin. All airlines have been instructed to ensure compliance with this directive for all passengers wishing to travel to Ghana, and those airlines who fail in this regard will be duly sanctioned;
b. disembarking passengers must do so wearing face masks;
c. upon disembarking from the airplane, each passenger will undergo a mandatory COVID-19 test at the airport terminal, at a fee to be borne by the passenger. The test result will be available within thirty (30) minutes;
d. children under the ages of five (5) will not be required to undergo testing at the airport;
e. passengers, who test positive for COVID-19, will be handled by the health authorities for further clinical assessment and management; and
f. passengers, who test negative, can, thereupon, enter Ghana to go about their lawful activities, and will be advised to continue to observe COVID-19 safety precautions during their stay in Ghana.
The borders, by land and sea, will continue to remain closed to human traffic until further notice.
A decision has been taken by the Ghana Education Service, after consultation with the relevant stakeholders, for SHS 2 and JHS 2 students to return to school from 5th October to 14th December 2020 to complete their academic year.
With Junior High Schools operating with class sizes of thirty (30), and Senior High Schools with class sizes of twenty-five (25), SHS 2 and JHS 2 students will be in school for ten (10) weeks to study, and write their end of term examinations.
SHS 2 students in boarding houses are to return to their various dormitories on 5th October, whilst day students, respecting fully the COVID-19 protocols, will commute from home to their respective schools on the same date.
JHS 2 students will be given one hot meal a day.
Assemblies and sporting events remain banned; and the use by outsiders of school premises for other activities is still not allowed.
The Ghana Education Service, after further consultations, has decided to postpone the remainder of the academic year for all nursery, kindergarten, primary, JHS 1 and SHS 1 students.
The next academic year will resume in January 2021, with appropriate adjustments made to the curriculum, to ensure that nothing is lost from the previous year.
In the next couple of weeks, a decision will also be taken on the resumption of contact sports, including football, taking into consideration the imminent participation of our national teams in international competitions.
Non-contact sports are the only sporting events permitted to take place. Beaches, pubs, cinemas and nightclubs are still to remain closed until further notice. All other institutions that have been cleared to function are to continue to do so in strict adherence to the COVID-19 protocols.
