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A volunteer enforcing the use of face masks at the Kwame Nkrumah exchange
Despite persistent calls for the public to wear face masks when outdoors as a means of stopping the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), people are blatantly ignoring the call and behaving as if they no longer there would be no threat of disease.
Aside from churches, which still adhere to prescribed safety protocols, clients at many social gatherings are failing to observe basic rules that require them to wash their hands, wear masks, sanitize their hands, and ensure social distancing.
The situation has worsened as the festive Christmas season approaches. In fact, despite the fact that masks are cheap, many people go about their business without face masks and they don’t seem to care too much.
On its rounds in the city of Accra, the Daily Graphic observed that the majority of customers who packed shopping malls in the central business district were moving around without face masks.
Calls
In all his speeches to update the nation on COVID-19, the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has always reminded and encouraged the public to observe the prescribed protocols on COVID-19.
The Director General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, has also used all the public platforms he speaks on to remind the public of the danger of ignoring safety protocols.
It’s challenging to see that people don’t wear masks when, in fact, their prices have dropped.
The price of a disposable mask has dropped from GH ¢ 5 to GH ¢ 1, while that of a reusable mask has also dropped from GH ¢ 5 to GH ¢ 3.
In reality, the passengers in the vehicles arriving at the central business district are not wearing the masks.
In many of the markets visited, such as Makola, Kaneshie and Adabraka, people went about their activities without face masks.
Protocols
Some merchants who spoke to the Daily Graphic said the weather made wearing the masks unbearable.
“It is hot and it is very uncomfortable to wear a mask. I use it from time to time, but not always. Anyway, I apply hand sanitizer to protect myself, ”said James Mensah, a shopkeeper.
Hannah Marfo, a roadside merchant wearing a nasal mask, said patronage for the masks was low due to news circulating that there were a low death toll among people infected with the disease.
Also, he said, many people did not believe that the virus was still in the system.
Aside from churches and pews where there is strict enforcement, most places have relaxed the protocol on wearing masks.
The police, who are in charge of enforcing the protocol, seem no longer paying attention.
However, the Daily Graphic noted that some young people were imposing the use of face masks in the Kwame Nkrumah exchange.
The youths wore army t-shirts, navy green caps, and held handcuffs and batons as they instructed people without masks to buy some before they were allowed to continue their journey.
Meanwhile, the ‘executors’ refused to speak to the Daily Graphic.
Ada Mohammed, who was detained by one of the youths, said she was forced to buy a nasal mask before she was allowed to board a vehicle to her destination.
Checks by the Ghana Police Service, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and the Korle Klottey Municipal Assembly showed that young people in the streets of the Nkrumah Circle imposing the use of face masks had not been authorized by either agency mentioned.
Police and an AMA official declined to comment on the application of face masks, maintaining that they had no authority to speak on the matter.
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