Police to arrest persons who fail to wear masks in public
From Monday, the police will be arresting people who fail to wear their face mask while at public places.
President Nana Akufo-Addo announced that the directive is part of measures to arrest the wave of increasing infections in the Greater Accra, Ashanti, Western and Central Regions.
“Residents of these four regions, and indeed, all Ghanaians must know that the wearing of masks is now mandatory. Leaving our homes without a face mask or face covering is an offence,” the President warned in his 11th COVID-19 update on Sunday.
He said the police had been instructed to enforce this directive, which is a subject of an executive instrument in March.
“It is important to remind residents of the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions, where the greater majority of cases are being recorded, and the Western and Central regions, where we are seeing an increase in infectious cases, to continue to adhere strictly to the social distancing and enhanced hygiene protocols announced,” he said.
The four regions put together have recorded 10,590 of the country’s reported cases ever since the country reported its first case on March 12.
The Greater Accra Region leads the pack with 6,997 cases, followed by Ashanti Region with 2,021; Western 951 and Central Region 621.
In the Ashanti Region, the Greater Metropolitan Area and the Obuasi municipality have been fuelling the region’s wave of infections. Kumasi was locked down with parts of Accra, Tema and Kasoa when the President announced a partial lockdown in March.
A team of health experts had to be sent to Obuasi after the Ghana Health Service declared the municipality a hotspot on May 12.
In the case of the Western Region, the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolis and the Tarkwa municipality were declared the new hotspots for coronavirus spread on May 26.
Greater Accra has been the country’s epicentre since March when the index case was identified. As of May 28, at least 18 districts in the Greater Accra Region had recorded the virus.
The Central Region recorded its first case on April 8 and has since struggled to keep the rapidly spreading contagion at bay.
Although President Akufo-Addo announced compulsory wearing of face masks from April 20, 2020, as the government intensifies the fight against deadly novel coronavirus, adherence to the safety protocol had been sparingly adhered to because of laxity in enforcement.
But with the country’s infections steady rise, particularly in the four regions, the President has rallied the public to wear their masks or face the police.