Measures are in place to handle cases in the event of an outbreak – Dr Nsiah-Asare
Akufo-Addo lifts COVID-19 restrictions
Presidential Health Advisor, Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare, has assured that the decision to lift the COVID-19 restrictions by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will not be reversed.
According to Dr Nsiah-Asare, the president decided to lift the restrictions on the advice of Ghana's COVID-19 Task Force and also because of the reduced cases of infections in Ghana and its neighbouring countries.
Speaking in a Neat FM interview monitored by GhanaWeb, the health advisor to the president said, "the National Task Force and advisors after looking into all the important details including the number of cases in Ghana, the number of cases in the West-African sub-region," advised the president to lift the restrictions.
Asked whether the task force gave the president the right advice, Dr Nsiah-Asare said, "yes, but in the event that some cases are recorded, there is a strategy to handle such cases… where there are a lot of cases in a particular place, health workers will be sent to that particular location to contain the situation."
He refuted suggestions that the president's decision was not based on any data, saying that anybody who wants to see the number of cases in countries surrounding Ghana should visit the World Health Organisation COVID-19 website.
He added that the same people complaining about the opening of the borders were the ones who also said the closure of the borders was making people lose their jobs.
The presidential advisor on health also clarified that the president's directive on face masks is not a prohibition on wearing them. He urged the public to wear face masks when they are in crowded places as well as to observe the COVID-19 handwashing etiquettes.
Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo has announced that wearing a nose mask is no longer mandatory from Monday, March 28, 2022.
"...from tomorrow, Monday, March 28, the wearing of facemasks is no longer mandatory. I encourage all of you, though, to continue to maintain enhanced hand hygiene practices, and avoid overcrowded gatherings," President Akufo-Addo said whilst delivering his 28th televised address on measures taken to fight the COVID-19 pandemic on Sunday, March 27.
The president announced that "outdoor functions at sporting events, entertainment spots, political rallies and funerals may resume at full capacity, again, as long as all persons at these events are fully vaccinated," adding that all of Ghana's land borders are opened.
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Presidential Health Advisor, Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare