Former President John Dramani Mahama has called for more action from government in the wake of the outbreak of coronavirus in the country.
The leader and flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress in a Facebook live address on Monday, March 16, 2020, said government must hit the ground running to prevent spread of the virus in the country.
“The virus outbreak is a national issue and we really are all in this together. My party and I will play our role in supporting national efforts to mitigate the threats and to support our people through this crisis. I give my word to the people of Ghana that as the Minority and the voice of the voiceless, we will hold the government to account on these issues while remaining vigilant in ensuring that the public is protected. This is not a time for words. It is time for action.”
The former president further called on the government to release its plan on how to keep the economy afloat following the outbreak.
“What the government did not address is the wide-reaching economic impact of the pandemic. We have seen governments around the world make bold moves to protect the economies and we should expect the government of Ghana to respond rapidly to this challenge. I, therefore, call on the government to publish its plans to protect the economy including the possibility of a statement to Parliament on the expected impact on our economy of the destructions of COVID-19 on global supply chains and international travel.”
Mr. Mahama also called on ECOWAS health and other relevant ministers to hold an urgent teleconference to review the sub-regional actions that are put in place to protect us.
“During the Ebola crisis, I had the experience of working with our partners in the ECOWAS and the UN in addressing the threats. ECOWAS must now common enforceable protocols to deal with the Coronavirus across the sub-regions and related issues. ECOWAS health and other relevant ministers and their advisors must hold a teleconference as a matter of urgency to review sub-regional actions that are put in place to protect us.”
During the Ebola outbreak, John Mahama, then the Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) coordinated sub-regional and international interventions to support the affected countries in their effort to contain and manage the Ebola outbreak.
He also decided to set up an international logistics centre in Accra to serve as the main hub for the fight against Ebola in the West African subregion before donating quantities of various Made in Ghana products to each of the affected countries.
Four more cases of Coronavirus have been confirmed in Ghana.
This brings to six, the total number of cases reported in the country.
This was announced by the government at a press briefing on Sunday.
The government said three of the cases were recorded in Accra while one other was recorded in the Ashanti Region.
The Director of Public Health at Ghana Health Service, Dr. Badu Sarkodie who provided updates on the country’s cases said the new cases were also imported into the country.
He said two of the cases were confirmed on the 13th of March 2020 while the other two were confirmed on 14th March, 2020.
How to protect yourself
To prevent the spread, the standard recommendations coming from the WHO is regular hand washing, covering one’s mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, thoroughly cooking meat and eggs.
People are also advised to avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing.
