Don’t relent on coronavirus education

Mr Johnson Opoku, the Director of Programmes, National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), has urged staff of the Commission to continue sensitizing people on the Coronavirus disease despite the mass vaccination going on.

He said Ghanaians needed to understand that it was only when vaccination was being complemented with good personal hygiene and the recommended safety protocols that the virus could effectively be defeated.

“Do not be complacent, do not lose guard because of the COVID-19 vaccines, the vaccines and the safety protocols are complementary, so still use the key messages to educate the public,” he told the staff.

He asked them to continue to be consistent with the right information, to remind people to observe and practise the preventive measures and complement the government’s efforts at fighting the menace.

The Director of Programmes made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region when he paid a working visit to the region to interact with staff of the NCCE and assess the implementation of rolled out programmes especially on the COVID-19 campaign and how to improve on performance.

Mr Opoku explained that the country was still recording high cases of the virus which needed concerted effort to tackle.

“The society is looking up to the Commission for accurate information and the staff must not disappoint Ghanaians”, he said.

The Director of Programmes disclosed that since the outbreak of the COVID-19 in March last year, the Commission had been engaging in a number of activities to get Ghanaians informed and the roles they had to play to fight it.

He said the Commission had collaborated effectively with other stakeholders including; the Church of Pentecost, the Information Services Department and the Ghana Health Service to carry out sensitization programmes across the country.

Mr Opoku said staff of the Commission received training from the Ghana Health Service and were given materials on the right information to disseminate to the populace.

He explained that although their efforts had yielded positive results with high number of people adhering to the safety protocols and the government restrictions, more needed to be done to achieve maximum benefits.

Mr Opoku challenged the staff to continue to drum home the need to wash hands regularly with soap under running water, sanitizing of hands, wearing of nose masks and social distancing especially places of worship and another social gathering.

Mr Pontius Pilate Baba Apaabey, the Regional Director of the NCCE, reiterated the commitment of the staff to intensifying the campaign against the spread of the virus.

He said his outfit had begun education on COVID-19 vaccines in an attempt to demystify misconception surrounding the vaccines and encouraged people to avail themselves when it reached their community.