Lockdown: Pregnant woman in tears as car transporting her is turned back

A heavily pregnant woman was on Tuesday, left stranded and in tears, after a commercial vehicle she was on board was asked to offload the passengers and return as part of the lockdown restriction orders.

The passengers commuting from Kasoa to Accra were asked to alight at the popular Chinese bus stop and walk to Tuba Junction where the tollbooth is situated since Kasoa is one of the areas affected by the lockdown. The pregnant woman who was heading to SCC for antenatal with a handbag, was to walk for about 150 meters and the thought of the stress alone triggered tears to drop down to her cheeks.

The scene of lamentation appeared to have touched the hearts of the officers on duty as they arranged for a car to send her to her destination.

Speaking to GhanaWeb, a passenger who identified himself as a nurse expressed disgust over how inconvenient the restrictions have been to persons delivering essential services.

He mentioned that they had been stranded for long and no car was available to transport them to work after the one they were aboard was asked to turn back.

“We don’t know what is happening, we want the government to outline the rules well,” said the troubled worker. “I’m from Kasoa heading to work but you don’t get a car over there [where you’re offloaded]. We’re supposed to get to work on time because there are patients in need of medical attention. Why won’t they find a better solution for us so our work becomes easier?”

Some parts of the country have entered day 3 of the lockdown. The partial lockdown, a directive from the president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo which took effect at 1am on Monday, March 30, is one of the drastic measures by the government to prevent the spread of Coronavirus.

It affects areas where significant numbers of virus infections have been recorded. Some parts of the nation’s capital Accra as well as Ashanti regional capital Kumasi, Kasoa and Tema are also hit with the 14-day restriction on movements.

Announcing the lockdown, Friday, the president “everyone resident in these areas must stay at home for the next two weeks or 14 days. However, if you must go out, it must only be to get essential items such as food, water, medicine, undertake banking transactions, or to use public toilet facilities. But, as much as possible, stay at home.

“There shall be, during this period, no inter-city movement of vehicles and aircraft for private or commercial purposes for the areas of the restrictive measures, except for vehicles and aircrafts providing essential services and those carrying cargo.

“Riders of motorbikes are not allowed to carry any additional person, and all intra-city passenger vehicles, such as trotros and taxis, must reduce the number of passengers in order to observe appropriate social distancing and hygiene protocols.”