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Ghanaian colleagues, good evening.
I thank you for welcoming me home for the sixteenth (16th) time, as the fight to defeat COVID-19 continues not only in Ghana, but around the world.
Day after day, countries, including our own, take steps to try to limit and contain the spread of the virus and return life to normal.
Some of these measures have been successful, others have not worked, and some countries are now experiencing increases in infection rates and the emergence of what is known as a ‘second wave of the virus’.
With the effectiveness of government policies, the cooperation of you, the people of Ghana, and by the grace of God, our nation has relatively spared these unwanted developments.
In fact, since May 31, when the government decided to embark on a strategic, controlled, progressive and safe easing of restrictions in the country, so that our lives and our economy could return to normal in safety, we have continued to be witnesses to a low level of hospitalization and low mortality rates.
The number of active cases continues to decline. At the time of my last address, two weeks ago, the total number of active cases, that is people currently with the virus, was eighteen hundred and
forty-seven (1,847) people.
As of Friday, August 28, the number of active cases has been reduced to one thousand fifty-nine (1,059) people. A total of forty-two thousand nine hundred sixty-three (42,963) people, and two hundred and seventy-six (276) people have recovered, the vast majority of them with underlying conditions, such as hypertension, diabetes, and chronic liver. disease, sadly they have died.
As encouraging as these statistics are, unlike what happens in several countries around the world, we cannot allow ourselves to lower our guard. We have to maintain, in a constant state of readiness, the improved infrastructure and expertise that we have built during the virus period to deal with it.
I have been reliably informed that, in some regions of our country where there are no active cases, some neighbors are abandoning, altogether, the protocols, such as the use of masks, implemented to defeat the virus.
In fact, the high rate of compliance with the use of masks of the people surveyed by the Ghana Health Service in some selected areas of Accra, which I referred to with optimism in my last address, has decreased alarmingly, according to a new survey carried out by the same Service.
This is not acceptable, as improved hygiene, mask use, and social distancing protocols must now be central features of our lives, and must remain so for some time, until we see the elimination of the virus from our country. .
Let me remind those of us who want to continue to disregard these protocols, that there are severe penalties in our laws for those people, who will want to endanger the rest of the population with their actions and negligence. Law enforcement agencies, where necessary, will apply these measures without fear or favor, without ill will or malice, and without recourse to a person’s ethnicity, gender or religion.
Ghanaian colleagues, in Update 15, I announced the easing of restrictions in some areas of national life. I also indicated my hope that the ongoing preparations and simulation exercises, including the installation of the COVID-19 testing facilities at Kotoka International Airport, will give us a clear indication of whether or not we may reopen the airport on 1 of September. After weeks of painstaking work, I am satisfied that it is safe to do so.
Ghanaian colleagues, I am pleased to announce that Kotoka International Airport will reopen and resume operations from Tuesday, September 1, 2020. This decision has been communicated to international airlines around the world.
It is well established that the first boxes of COVID-19 in Ghana were imported to our shores. We are determined to ensure that this scenario does not repeat itself. The commitment to ensure that the gradual relaxation of restrictions, including the reopening of our airports, does not lead to the importation or resurgence of the virus in our country, is firmly established. That is why the following measures have been taken and duly communicated to airlines wishing to resume flights to Ghana:
- Any passenger arriving in Ghana must be in possession of a negative COVID-19 PCR test result from an accredited laboratory in the country of origin. The test must have been performed no more than seventy-two (72) hours before the scheduled departure from the country of origin. All airlines have been instructed to ensure compliance with this directive for all passengers wishing to travel to Ghana, and airlines that fail to do so will be duly penalized;
- disembarking passengers must do so with face masks;
- Upon disembarking from the plane, each passenger will undergo a mandatory COVID-19 test at the airport terminal, with a fee charged to the passenger. The test result will be available in thirty (30) minutes;
- Children under the age of five (5) should not be tested at the airport.
- passengers who test positive for COVID-19 will be treated by the health authorities for their subsequent clinical evaluation and management;
- Passengers who test negative can then enter Ghana for their legal activities, and will be advised to continue to observe COVID-19 safety precautions during their stay in Ghana.
The Ministries of Information, Health and Aviation, and their respective agencies – the Ghana Health Service, Ghana Airports Co. Ltd., and the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority – will further detail the protocols surrounding the reopening of our airport, and the procedures to be followed by passengers arriving in Ghana at the COVID-19 press conference tomorrow, Monday, August 31.
To avoid doubts, our borders, by land and sea, will remain closed to human trafficking until further notice.
Ghanaian colleagues, I will now address the issue of reopening our schools. With continuing students at the University of Cape Coast, the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Technical Universities and some other faculties returning to school almost a week ago, to finish the academic year, the decision was made by the Education Service of Ghana after Consultation with relevant stakeholders, for SHS 2 and JHS 2 students to return to school from October 5 to December 14, 2020 to complete their academic year.
With high schools operating with a class size of thirty (30) and high schools with a size of twenty-five (25), SHS 2 and JHS 2 students will be in school for ten (10) weeks to study and write. your end-of-term exams. SHS 2 students in pensions must return to their different dormitories on October 5, while day students, fully respecting COVID-19 protocols, will travel from home to their respective schools on the same date.
Prior to reopening, all middle and high schools will be fumigated and disinfected. As with the senior year, JHS and SHS students, all JHS 2 and SHS 2 students, as well as all teaching and non-teaching staff, will receive reusable masks. Each school will receive Veronica Buckets, gallons of liquid soap, rolls or tissue paper, heat guns, and 200-mil containers of disinfectant. JHS 2 students will receive one hot meal a day.
Assemblies and sporting events are still prohibited; and the use by outsiders of the school facilities for other activities is not yet allowed. We will continue to make sure that each school, which does not have its own infirmary, is assigned to a health center, and the nurses assigned to them provide care for the sick.
The Ghana Education Service, after further consultation, has decided to postpone the remainder of the academic year for all Kindergarten, Kindergarten, Primary, JHS 1 and SHS 1 students. The next academic year will resume in January 2021, with the necessary adjustments in the curriculum, to ensure that nothing is lost from the previous year. The pertinent provisions will also be made so that the presence, at the same time, in the school of all groups of students, can occur safely.
I fully appreciate the inconvenience and financial burden that the continued stay at home with the children implies for parents and guardians. Ghanaian colleagues, this is a necessary price to pay in our efforts to protect the lives of our children, as well as to limit and contain the spread of the virus in our country.
In the coming weeks, a decision will also be made on the resumption of contact sports, including football, taking into account the imminent participation of our national teams in international competitions. As a well-known soccer lover, I know how devastating his absence has been, and I am hopeful that very soon we will all have the pleasure of playing and watching the beautiful match again.
Until then, non-contact sports are the only sporting events allowed. The beaches, pubs, cinemas and discos will be closed until further notice. All other institutions that have been authorized to operate must continue to do so in strict adherence to the COVID-19 protocols.
Ghanaian colleagues, the difficulties imposed on our daily lives and the impact that COVID-19 has had on our livelihoods should serve as sufficient motivation for all of us to continue to adhere to the protocols of improved hygiene, wearing of masks and social distancing that should characterize to our daily routines in this country.
The more we adhere, the sooner we will defeat the virus and return to our normal way of life. I’m sure this will be soon. This challenge is not insurmountable. We can do it. We have it in us to overcome any challenge if we put our hearts and minds to it. As we do so, let us continue to pray to Almighty God to watch over us with benevolence and protect us from harm.
This too shall pass! Because the battle is the Lords.
