The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Akufo-Addo, the Ghana Police Service have been given the green light to arrest any person who refuses to put on a face mask when he or she steps out from his or her house.
This follows the announcement of making the wearing of face masks mandatory in the wake of a sharp increase in the number of positive coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the country.
In his 11th update address to the nation on measures taken against the spread of the coronavirus on Sunday, June 14, 2020, the Ghanaian Leader said the Police will enforce the directive through an Executive Instrument (EI).
“With the doctors and scientists telling us that the virus is transmitted from human contact, through talking, singing, coughing and sneezing, which results in sending droplets of the virus from one person to another, residents of these four regions, and indeed, all Ghanaians, must remember that the wearing of masks is now mandatory”, he said.
He added “Leaving our homes without a face mask or face covering on is an offence. The Police have been instructed to enforce this directive, which is the subject of an Executive Instrument”.
As at midnight of June 13, 2020, Ghana’s positive cases of COVID-19 cumulatively stood at 11,964, out of the 254,331 tests conducted. Recovery cases stood at 4,258 (that means people who remain still positive of COVID-19 stood at 7,652), with the positivity ration standing at 4.7%.
Thirteen (13) persons were reported to be severely ill with, six (6) persons said to be critically ill while three (3) persons are also said to be on ventilators. All these persons are being taken care of at the various hospitals and isolation centers.
Death rate stood, according to President Akufo-Addo, stood at 54 with the ratio of deaths to positive cases standing at 0.4%, compared to the global average of 5.5% and the African average of 2.6%.
“I am relating to these figures not to engender any false, feel-good factor, but as statements of fact that must provide the context for us, when we examine our figures. If, indeed, we are to be guided by the data, then we must look at the data in all its ramifications, not just one particular aspect of them. That is the proper way to do justice to the data”, noted the President in his address which was aired live on various television and radio stations across the country as well as on social media platforms.
