Give more attention to coronavirus updates – Assibey Antwi urges media

The Chief Executive Officer of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, Hon. Osei Assibey Antwi has urged all media organizations in the country to devote more of their air time to report coronavirus related stories so that Ghanaians will understand how serious the pandemic is.

In an interview on UTV’s ‘Adekye Nsroma’ morning show, Mr. Antwi charged the media to emulate what foreign media houses do in creating more awareness.

“I commend the media for their role in this fight but I encourage all journalists; those in the electronic and print media to do more and be able to report on the crises like CNN and BBC are doing,” he said.

According to Mr. Antwi, most Americans have changed their attitude and lifestyle in order to fight the virus because they understand the gravity of their situation as their media has put in more work to promote awareness of the virus.

“I noticed that CNN has devoted about 80 percent of their airtime to report on the virus. This has made Americans come to the realization that the disease is really deadly and they would have a complete attitudinal change to control its spread. If the Ghanaian media can adopt that same strategy and report widely about the virus, it will help our citizens understand how really deadly the virus is,” he added.

He however advised that the country should be productive in handling diseases that may arise during the rainy season, as it (the rainy season) is in the corner.

“While we are observing the protocols to wage a war on the virus, let us note that we are in the rainy season and systems should be put in place to prevent diseases like Cholera, which are very common in the season. Rain water could also settle in places and become breeding grounds for mosquitoes. We should also wage war on filth,” he concluded.