Wearing Of Face Masks, Still Compulsory -President

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says  the wearing of face mask, social distancing, and enhanced hygiene protocols are still obligatory.

He said the phased opening up of the country  put an obligation and responsibility on each person to remain vigilant, and respect the COVID-19 protocols that “have become part and parcel of our daily routine”.

“They are proving to be effective, so let us employ them wholeheartedly”, President Akufo-Addo said on Sunday night in his 15th address on measures taken against the spread of Coronavirus

However, the President asked Ghanaians to wear the facemasks correctly, since it had become the new normal requirement of daily existence until the virus disappeared.

He said abiding strictly by the COVID-19 protocols was also the best way  that the country could restore, as quickly as possible, “the blessings of normalcy for which we all yearn”.

He stated that there should not be any room for complacency, but rather,  “we must be very much on our guard, because some countries have experienced spikes after recording major achievements in containing the spread of the virus”.

“We should not go down that road”, he emphasized.

Meanwhile, as at  July 24, the number of active cases that stood at 3,307, had as at August 15, reduced to 1,847, the President announced.

“This is a clear indication that Government policies are working”, he said.

He said currently, there were no recorded COVID-19 cases in the North East, Savannah, Upper East and Upper West Regions.

However, the Greater Accra, Ashanti, Central, Eastern, and Western Regions continue to be the areas with the highest number of active cases.

So far, 40,567 persons have recovered from the virus, taking Ghana’s recovery rate from 89.5 per cent  to 95.1 per cent in three weeks.

The country’s death rate continues to be low at zero-point five percent (0.5%).

Backlogs of tests had been cleared in all the testing centres, the President said, explaining that the situational reports were up to date.

 Test results that used to take weeks were now available within 48 hours with 427,121 tests conducted so far.