Coronavirus: Reduce screen time, avoid corona messages – Psychologist to Ghanaians

The Vice-President of the Ghana Association of Psychologists, Collins Badu Agyemang, has urged Ghanaians to reduce the number of hours they spend watching TV and to also avoid reading every single material related to COVID-19 forwarded to their phones.

Ghana has so far recorded two hundred and four cases, 5 deaths and three recoveries.

The government, as part of measures to prevent further spread of the virus, has restricted movement in the Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions as well as Tema and Kasoa.

As a result, most workers in the country are working from home.

Speaking at the Ministry of Information’s Press Conference on COVID-19 on Friday, 3 April 2020, Dr Badu Agyemang said: “This two-week partial lockdown is telling us how retirement will be like”, adding: “We need to find things to stay active: Take an online course; social distancing does not mean emotionally we should distant”.

“We can connect with people by using electronic means. We know the telcos have supported Ghana giving us options, promotions and others, let’s leverage these. We may do our own pedicure and manicure at home, wash our own cars at this time, it will save us because likely one duster may be used to wash several cars and could also be a danger to the spread of coronavirus.

“Those who are at home working, we want to tell you, you should still manage your time as though you’re at the work place. Avoid reading everything corona, let’s reduce the screen time. Let’s avoid binge watching, watching movies simply because children are at home”.

He added: “All emergency situations in Ghana that may change the way people behave, the way people may do their things may demand that we consider psychological assessment in the planned stage, designing and implementation of what interventions.