Lockdown: Try and like the 'waakye' in your area - Kojo Oppong Nkrumah

Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has called on Ghanaians not to abuse the flexible nature of the country’s lockdown measure announced by President Nana Akufo-Addo.

He says, this is not the time for people to drive from one end of town to the other just to get their favorite waakye or any type of food, adding that it is important that citizens consume items in the localities and neighborhoods.

“If you need to come out, it must be for an essential service and even for those once we encourage that it be in your local area. For want of a better word we say your electoral area, your small neighborhood, just your neighborhood. We are not in ordinary times and so you have to like the waakye in your neighborhood.

What we do not want is for people to be using some of the exceptions we have given as reasons to be now moving from Dansoman to Tema and at every stop says I am going to buy waakye.”

As part of measures to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus, the government has ordered that some parts of the country begin a lockdown, with only essential workers allowed to go to work for the next 14 days.

However, due to the social architecture of the country, the government has given the police and other security agencies supervising the lockdown in Accra, Tema and Greater Kumasi the discretion to allow people to continue shopping for essential items such as food, water, healthcare needs, among others.

Market women, food vendors and persons attending to natures call are also to be allowed to do so but the Information Minister, speaking on Joy News said an abuse of the flexibility of the lockdown will be inimical to the coronavirus fight.

“It is in your own interest to stay at home and if for some exempt reason you have to step out, let it be in your neighborhood. Let it be in your electoral area”.

Ghana has so far recorded 152 cases of the coronavirus, with persons succumbing to the disease.

The government is optimistic that if after the 14 days lockdown the country does not record a very exponential number of cases, then it is on the right path to win the fight against the deadly virus.