Nursing mothers expose their children to danger at registration centres

Nursing mothers who carry their babies to the voter registration centres without any form of protection, are exposing their children to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Odeneho Kwaku Appiah, chairman of the Afigya-Kwabre South constituency who made the observation, said it was sad to see nursing mothers in the queues wearing nose masks, but having their babies without any form of protection.

He said if care was not taken, more children would be infected by the virus after the exercise.

Odeneho Appiah, who was speaking to the Ghana News Agency at Kodie after touring some registration centres in the constituency, said it would be important for nursing mothers to either leave their children in the house and go to register or find appropriate protection for them at the registration centres.

He said children were more vulnerable and exposing them in overcrowded areas could be dangerous, especially, where people were refusing to observe social distancing in the registration centres.

Odeneho Appiah commended the Electoral Commission (EC) for instituting appropriate measures at the various registration centres to ensure the safety of registrants.

He, however, said it would be very helpful if the EC would give nursing mothers a priority in the registration centres to enable them to leave the centres early to avoid endangering their babies.

Odeneho Appiah also appealed to the people to adhere strictly to all the preventive protocols at the centres to stay safe after the registration exercise.

Voter registration is currently underway in 14 centres in Afigya-Kwabre South constituency in the first phase of the exercise being conducted by the EC to provide identity cards of voters in the upcoming December general elections.