Coronavirus: Govt justifies decision not to ensure social distancing in ‘trotros’, taxis

Presidential Advisor on Health, Dr. Anthony Nsiah Asare has defended the government’s decision not to regulate the operations of commercial or public transport amidst the increase in coronavirus cases in Ghana.

President Akufo-Addo in his latest update on Ghana’s fight against COVID-19 on Sunday announced the reimposition of a ban on Weddings, parties, concerts, and theatrical performances to curb the spread of the virus.

Following, the ban a section of the public has called on the government to regulate the number of passengers commercial vehicles can transport in order to ensure social distancing.

However, speaking to Joy News, Dr. Nsiah Asare stated that the low risk associated with public transport and the economic cost to Ghanaians informed government’s position.

“If you sit in trotro, there’s a capacity of people within the trotro. What we’re trying to do is that we are trying to save lives and also save livelihoods. We are combining these two so we have to make sure we don’t destroy whatever people are doing very much and make sure that we use the safety protocols to cut down the risk that people have on public transport. So that is exactly what we’re doing.”