AFTERMATH OF PARTIAL LOCKDOWN AND MATTERS ARISING.

His Excellency, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo on Monday defended the executive decision of government to lift the partial lockdown on the capital Accra, Kumasi and Kasoa. In a close door meeting with the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) on Monday, April 20th 2020, he stated that data on testing and contact tracing along with treatment of confirmed cases informed the decision announced on Sunday evening, April 19th, 2020. The President also stressed that a crucial plank of the economy, the informal sector was also a major factor to the decision which has so far divided opinion in the country. “We are also looking at the demography of the disease its self, in terms of the sick, in terms of death. What we will like to do, as decision makers is to balance all these factors and to come to a conclusion and a set of solutions that will benefit our people and of course, protect the economy of the country. All of these have been the basket of issues that have led us to take this decision”, he expatiated. The head of state of the jurisdiction proceeded “ I Cannot ignore the impact that this lockdown is having on several constituencies of our nation, especially the informal workers, a very important part of the economy, who need to have a day out in the market or otherwise in order to provide for their families, who were having a lot of difficulty”. On the other hand, the GMA leadership pledged their readiness to assist in ensuring that government fight this cruel novel virus. There has been a series of mixed reactions pertaining to the lifting of the lockdown across a broad section of society. The Trade Union Congress were thrilled for the lifting of the executive order. Head of Think Tank, the Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research also openly supported the move. Some section of the citizenry in the country jubilated when the lockdown was lifted. The main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is however unhappy at the development with its Flagbearer and Spokesman criticizing the President of not valuing the lives of Ghanaians at a time when confirmed cases continued to rise. One of the country’s renowned Pathologist Prof. Agyemang Badu Akorsah, bemoaning the lifting stressing that conditions pointed to the need for the lockdown to have been extended. ● Fallouts and Key Facts from The Seventh Presidential Address includes: - ♦ Frontline workers has traced about 86,000 contacts so far - ♦ 68,500 of the number have since been tested - ♦ 18, 000 test results expected - ♦ 1,042 (1.5%) confirmed cases as of April 19th, 2020. - ♦ 67,549 (98.5% tested negative) - ♦ 930 affected persons responding to treatment at home and government health facilities - ♦ Compulsory wearing of face masks by the citizenry especially when stepping out - ♦ Reduction in cost of Internet data - ♦ Stimulus Package for businesses expanded - ♦ Enhanced contact tracing and testing - ♦ Ban on social gatherings still holds - ♦ Closure of Country’s entry points (borders) still holds - ♦ Other safety protocols still hold “Indeed, Ghana is the only other country in Africa to have conducted more than 60000 tests and we are ranked number one in Africa in administering of tests per million people. The decision to impose restrictions on movements was backed by the data at hand and not next course of action is backed by data and science “, the President uttered. The number one citizen of the land also took turn to meet the clergymen (Christian Council of Ghana) on Tuesday, April 21st, 2020 to deliberate on ways to bring the country back to normalcy. Since we cannot continue to live like this for the rest of our lives. The council expressed how this pandemic coupled with current executive directives are having a toll on Church activities. They indicated their role in ensuring that the country heals from this pandemic quickly and pledged to support the government at all cost.