President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, by Executive Instrument, has extended the ongoing partial lockdown by another week, effective Monday, April 13 2020.
Addressing the nation for the sixth time on the Covid-19, Thursday evening, President Akufo-Addo said the fight against the pandemic is yet to be won.
The President had hinted in his previous address that an extension of the lockdown would be determined by the data of the pandemic in country.
“I said in my last address that government policy in this entire drama will be largely driven by science. We will as much as possible be guided by the data whilst focusing on the three Ts: Tracing, Testing and Treatment,” he said.
Justified
According to him, the decision to close the country’s borders has been justified by the fact that 105 of the confirmed cases have come from those who were mandatorily quarantined and tested when they arrived in the country.
“192 of the cases came from travellers who entered the country before the closure and their contacts,” the President said.
To this end, the President said until the situation is fully brought under control, Ghana’s borders will remain closed until further notice.
Accra/Kumasi stats
President Akufo-Addo further indicated that the partial lockdown of Accra and Kumasi has facilitated an aggressive programme of enhanced contact tracing.
“With a total of 450 teams, 37,405 samples have been taken. Of this, 31,933 are in Accra and 5,472 are in Kumasi,” President Akufo-Addo said.
He disclosed that, as of Wednesday, April 8, a total of 14,611 contacts of the samples collected had been tested for the virus in Accra and Kumasi.
“For Accra, 11,308 contacts were tested and 52, representing 0.46 per cent, were found to be positive. In Kumasi, 3,303 contacts have been tested, and 25, representing 0.76, have been found to be positive,” he said.
This, according to the President, makes it 77 positive cases that have been recorded in Accra and Kumasi.
Not out the woods yet
Though President Akufo-Addo admitted that the results were encouraging, “we are not out of the woods yet.”
As a result, he continued, there is the need for continued patience, saying it is important that Ghanaians bear the difficulties that come with the lockdown with the final result being freedom from the virus.
“So, the decision has been taken, through the issuance of another Executive Instrument, to extend the restriction of movement in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area and Kasoa and the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area by one more week, beginning 1:00 am, Monday, April 13, subject to review,” President Akufo-Ado said.
