Accra, Ghana, March 30, 2020//-Residents of Accra metropolis and its surrounding communities today observed a peaceful lockdown announced by the government as parts of efforts aiming at containing the spread of the deadly coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country.
A number of streets visited by a team of African Eye Report reporters revealed that the residents were abiding the lockdown directive.
Few commercial vehicles were in business while majority of them were parked on their stations. Some taxis which normally take four passengers are now taking three. “We are now taking three passengers instead of four. This is our way of helping to reduce the spread of the infectious disease”, drivers at Mile 7 Station told African Eye Report .
One noticeable feature on the streets was that most of the shops including hair dressing, barbering, electronics, among other shops were not opened. However, provision shops, foodstuffs and catering shops were doing brisk business.
Mobile money agent shops and banks which are exempted to operate during the lockdown were seen providing financial services to their customers. Supermarkets including Game and Shporite located at the Achimota Mall were opened for business with reduced staff.
The lockdown which took effect at 1:00 AM, Monday, 30, 2020 excluded essential service providers, members of the Executive arm of government, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, senior staffers, special assistants, media among others.
It is being implemented in the Greater Accra, Tema, Kasoa and Greater Kumasi is aimed at the containing the spread of the disease.
The confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ghana currently stood at 152, according to the Ghana Health Service. Two persons have recovered from the disease with five deaths.
11 new cases were recorded on Sunday, March 29, 2020. Out of this number, 10 of the new cases were among people who were under mandatory quarantine in the Northern Regional Capital Tamale, under the direction of the Regional Security Committee, the Service noted.
All these 10 cases are Guinean residents who traveled through Burkina Faso and Togo to Ghana and were picked following an intelligence report.
However, the 11th case was recorded in the Ashanti Regional capital, Kumasi.
Tamale is the fourth region to record COVID-19 cases aside Greater Accra, Ashanti and Upper West.
As of Saturday, March 28, the Ghana Health Service said a total of 2,519 people had tested for COVID-19 in the country.
Among the tested, “1,276 (50.7%) were persons under mandatory quarantine with 1,243 (49.3%) from routine surveillance activities. Among all 2,519 persons tested, 141 tested positive representing 5.6%.
“Among persons under mandatory quarantine, 79 representing 6.2% tested positive. Among samples tested from routine surveillance, sixty-two (62) representing 5.0% tested positive”, the Ghana Health Service said.
African Eye Report
