The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has cautioned that any attempt by the government to lift the existing ban on social gatherings will be premature and risky.
A statement from the party’s COVID-19 Technical Response Team said the prevalence and high reproductive rate of COVID-19 infections in Ghana is a serious danger.
Moreso, the NDC wants the country’s borders to remain shut.
“Any attempt to lift restrictions on all forms of public gatherings, in our view, is extremely premature and risky at this stage of the virus’ evolution in Ghana. In addition, our borders should also remain closed at this time.”
The government has already placed a ban on all public gatherings including conferences, workshops, funerals, festivals, political rallies, church and Islamic activities, and other related events in a bid to curb the spread of the novel Coronavirus in the country.
The ban, which is in its eighth week, was initially set for one month by the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo but was subsequently extended by another two weeks which will expire on Monday, May 11, 2020. There are however concerns on whether the ban should be extended or lifted.
But according to the party, a “well-executed plan ought to have translated into better results rather than the ongoing lack of change in behaviour and attendant higher numbers of cases occurring in increasingly shorter periods of time.”
Already, several institutional bodies have advised the government against lifting the ban given the increasing number of Coronavirus infections in the country.
The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) and the Ghana Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists (GAMLS) have made similar calls.
For the Bureau of Public Saftey (BPS), the ban should be extended indefinitely.
Ghana’s case count of the novel Coronavirus shot up to 4,263 on Saturday, May 9, 2020. While the number of recoveries has increased to 378, the death toll remains at 22.
The fast-growing number of cases is occurring despite claims by the government that the country’s COVID-19 cases had reached its peaked and ready to decline.
