Muslim Communities adhering to President’s COVID-19 directives

Some Muslim Communities in Accra are strictly adhering to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s directive to close down schools, Mosques, Churches and other public gatherings.

A visit to Nima, Mamobi and Newtown by the Ghana News Agency on Wednesday revealed that as at 0500 hours mosques were empty as Muslims were seen observing prayers in their homes.

The directive by President Akufo-Addo was to stop the spread of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country.

The COVID-19 virus is a new virus linked to the same family of viruses as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and some types of the common cold.

The disease which is caused by the novel coronavirus was first identified in Wuhan, China, and has been named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

"The ‘CO’ stands for the corona, ‘VI’ for the virus, and ‘D’ for the disease.

Formerly, this disease was referred to as ‘2019 novel coronavirus’ or ‘2019-nCoV."

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency on conditions of anonymity in an interview, an opinion leader in Nima disclosed that though the majority of mosques adhered to the directive, some leaders still publicly prayed in their mosques without regard to the President’s directives.

This he said could cause the spread of the disease in the areas.

Hajia Zenabu Bukari who is educated on how the virus was spread explained that she had put in place some measures in her house to prevent her family from infection.

She said, the virus is transmitted through direct contact with respiratory droplets of an infected person (generated through coughing and sneezing), and touching surfaces contaminated with the virus and may survive on surfaces for several hours.

The measures she said included; disinfecting everywhere on an hourly basis and using sanitizers with the entire family and thoroughly washing of hands.