Residents, commuters and some business owners at Dome-Crossing were up and about their daily activities on day 19 of the lockdown some parts of the country are experiencing as a result of the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus.
One would expect a rather calm and composed ambience as that part of the city is also under lockdown but the rules of social distancing and the stay at home directive had been thrown out the window when GhanaWeb visited.
The excuses some people shared on the basis on anonymity with the news team were not vastly different, as though it had been rehearsed and recited.
“My children and I dying of hunger, so I decided to go out and get some things...” “I’ve run out of foodstuffs…” “I’m going to Lapaz community hospital” and “I’m going to buy some drugs for my sick mother,” were some responses GhanaWeb got from some people who were seen on the streets of Dome-Crossing.
Some other residents and commuters who blatantly admitted their wrong said ever since President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo gave directives on the lockdown, none of their usual activities have been affected though they’re not essential workers.
Their interesting revelation on how they go about their normal duties was that, even though police and military taskforce come to restore order from time to time, they are always back to normal once the officers leave.
“Honest to God I must say that the lockdown we’re not part, we do everything the same way, people are always roaming and doing their usual stuff. Sometimes the police and military come around to clear people and all but once they close everything returns to normal,” a young man said.
However, the story was not very different when the team spoke to some ‘trotro’ and taxi drivers in the vicinity, they also said hunger and idleness have pushed them to flout the president’s directives.
A taxi driver said, “It’s not totally because of the construction of the bridge that we’re out and about, it’s because of what we’ll eat. You can’t lock us up and not feed us. The food they promised to share is appalling. We’ve heard government created a coronavirus fund which people are donating into and it even has a committee. But those people guarding the money they have comfortable lives, we don’t have and they’re discriminating against us. So it’s not entirely about the bridge.”
Meanwhile, the bridge in question, according to some commuters, is also part of the reasons the streets are busting with people amidst the lockdown. They claim due to its inaccessibility by vehicles, they always have to alight at a point and walk to their destinations hence their unusual numbers on the streets.
Constructors have hinted of a possible opening of the bridge to vehicular traffic in a fortnight or less. Until then, the streets of Dome-Crossing may continue to be filled with people.
