COVID-19 UPDATE: Ghana Govt bans public gatherings, workplaces to employ shift-systems

President of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo has reintroduced restrictions on concerts, theatrical performances, funerals, weddings, and parties until further notice at the end of his 23rd address to the nation on measures to curb the spread of COVID-19.

On Sunday, January 31, 2021, the president while giving his address also indicated that private burials, with no more than twenty-five (25) people, can take place, with the enforcement of the social distancing, hygiene, and mask-wearing protocols.

“Our borders by land and sea remain closed,” he stressed.

Akufo-Addo has explained that, even though these measures were unpleasant, over a period, resulted in a favourable situation for the country’s first fight against the novel Coronavirus and “we have to return to them”.

“Workplaces, public and private, must employ a shift-system for workers, in addition to the use of virtual platforms for business or work. Conferences and workshops can take place with all the appropriate protocols. However, I encourage the use of virtual platforms for such engagements.

“Restaurants should provide take-away services, and should, as much as possible, avoid seated services. The National Sports Authority and the Ghana Football Association should ensure compliance with the twenty-five percent capacity rule in our stadia, with spectators respecting the social distancing rule and wearing of masks,” President Akufo-Addo stated.

He finally advised leaders of the various religious organisations, i.e. our churches and mosques that, they should enforce “to the letter, the protocols relating to attendance, i.e. the two-hour duration, one-meter social distancing, mask-wearing, use of sanitisers, and the presence of veronica buckets, liquid soap, and rolls of tissue paper.”