Harriet Kumi. Ghana

14/04/2020

Harriet is a beneficiary of the  Learn Africa scholarship program. She is studying a Master’s degree in Nanoscience at the UPV/EHU and was able to return to her country just before the borders were closed. She explains the measures the government has taken to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

 

Indeed we are in perilous times in this world with this pandemic we are facing. A lot of countries have been infected and as you are aware, Ghana has also been affected.

As at now, the total number of coronavirus cases in the country is 214, 31 people have fully recovered and 5 deaths.

The government has put in place some serious measurements to control the spread of the virus and to also make sure that the infected people do not contribute to the spread of the virus.

First of all, the government quarantined the people who have been affected with the virus and also embarked on contact tracing to also make sure that the people who may have come into contact with the affected person are also quarantined and tested upon to make sure that the virus doesn’t spread too much.

Also, the government also ordered for the lockdown of two main regions in the country; greater accra and ashanti region. These two regions are partially locked down for 2 weeks in the bid to ensure that the virus doesn’t spread too much. The government has also ordered that there should not be any firm social gathering for at least a month, because of this all schools, churches, mosques and places where a lot of people would gather have been closed.

The government has also closed down the borders of the country for one month. This action is to prevent people from coming into the country all in the bid of curbing the spread of this virus.

Although the virus is having an impact on the economy, the government has ordered for the mass production of hand sanitizers, nose masks and gloves by local industries to help stabilize the economy during this time and more importantly to help fight the coronavirus.

As motivation for the good work the health sector is doing, the president has ordered that they would not pay tax for 3 months and also their salary will be increased by 50% for the 3 months also.

In order to support the livelihoods of ghanaians, the government has decided to take care of utility bills, specifically water bills for 3 months. Also the government has decided to supply the less privileged with foodstuffs to help them in this situation especially those in the regions experiencing the lockdown.

Finally, the president and some of his cabinet members have donated their 3 months salary to support the fight of the coronavirus.

This is the current situation in ghana. Due to the restricted movements and the closure of the borders i might be in the country for some time now until everything subsides.