Funerals are not spreading coronavirus, parties do – Government monitoring reveals

An ongoing monitoring exercise by the government shows that most people who are getting the COVID- 19 or the new variant did not get it from attending funerals.

Government’s assessment of the increasing COVID-19 cases and the means by which people are contracting the virus show that, individuals who attend parties and take part in merry making are those getting the virus the most.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Ghana government has imposed about two rounds of restrictions including one extended to funerals.

The first round of restriction imposition witnessed a ban on funerals with a maximum number limited to just 100 people. Another round of restrictions on January 31, 2021 limited this number to just 25 for private burials.

The Presidential Advisor on Health, Dr. Anthony Nsiah Asare revealed that the government’s monitoring indicates that, COVID-19 patients did not get the virus from funerals.

“From what we are seeing from our monitoring, most of these people who are getting sick are not from the funerals; I think you haven’t seen that yet. We know because the sick people are being asked questions when they go to hospitals. Am a doctor too so when you come, I ask you the history. The history is that it is not from the outdoor funerals where people go to; it is not from the outdoor parties they go to, it is from the after funeral celebrations.”

Dr. Nsiah Asare who spoke on the Sunrise Morning show on 3FM 92.7, further stressed “Now after funeral, there is a buffet: We go and party; When you are eating you will remove your mask; And then when you want to talk to somebody you go near the person, you are not wearing masks. When you are eating, drinking and getting choked with cough all without masks. So please when we are doing this communication, let’s make this distinction clear. All those who got sick from January, February, and March were from after event celebrations.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Nsiah said government is doing everything possible to prevent Intensive Care Units, ICU across the country from being overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients.

Ghana is recording an increasing cases of COVID-19 and the new delta variant with a disturbing disregard for public safety protocols.