Lock down Upper West, Northern and Eastern Regions – Minority to Akufo-Addo

Following some confirmed cases of the Coronavirus pandemic in some regions outside those affected by the partial lockdown order, Minority members in Parliament have requested, as a matter of urgency, for a lockdown in these newly identified areas.

President Akufo-Addo directed for a partial lockdown on Accra, Tema, Obuasi and Kumasi effective Monday, March 30, 2020, when he addressed the nation on Friday night, March 27, 2020, as a containment measure to prevent the spread of the disease.

With a case count of 204 and some of them being recorded in the Upper West, Northern and Eastern Regions, concerns are rife that the lockdown be imposed in these areas as well.

Ranking Member on the Health Committee in Parliament Kwabena Mintah Akandoh stressed that extending the lockdown to the other COVID-19 affected regions would be salient in the fight against the spread.

“In the essence of a lockdown, you lockdown, you restrict movement because once the movement is not restricted, the spread moves faster. So, in order to contain them, I think that restricting the movement of persons in these five regions will not be bad. But if you restrict the movements in these regions and you sit idle, only restricting the movements alone will not stop the spread. You must have steps in place to fight them while you contain them. If you embark on lockdown and don’t do anything after the lockdown people will still be carrying the virus,” he noted.

Meanwhile, the partial lockdown imposed by the president on some parts of the country has entered Day 5.

There have been some reports of brutalities being meted out to civilians by security personnel. Although the Inspector General of Police has launched a probe into the alleged cases, the general populace in the areas under lockdown have been cautioned to stay home unless they require critical services taken care of.

As at 2nd April 2020, Ghana has recorded 204 cases COVID-19 with five (5) deaths. The number of regions reporting cases remain five (5) (Greater Accra, Ashanti, Northern, Upper West and Eastern). The Greater Accra Region has most of the cases (183) followed by the Northern Region (10), Ashanti Region (9), Upper West Region (1) and Eastern Region (1).

“Most of the cases are reported from routine/enhanced surveillance activities. Cases from travellers under mandatory quarantine remain 89.”

According to the GHS, two individuals are currently in critical condition.

The death toll is five.

Source: www.ghanaweb.com