Voters registration: Applicants shying away from thermometer guns - Health official hints

Health officials working with the Electoral Commission of Ghana in its ongoing voters registration exercise say some members of the public seem to be shying away from the exercise due to the thermometer guns being used to check body temperatures at various centers.

As part of measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 during the over one-month-long exercise, the EC has engaged the services of Ghana Health Service officials in ensuring adherence to safety protocols at the registration centers.

Speaking to some of these health officers on Tuesday, June 30, 2020, which marked the commencement of the exercise, they remarked that there has been general compliance of the public in adhering to the preventive protocols such as handwashing, wearing of nose mask as well as the use of hand sanitizers.

They however mentioned that some members within some communities were reluctant in partaking in the exercise due to the misconception that a high temperature will mean they are COVID-19 positive and that they will be taken into isolation.

“So far so good. But what I want to encourage people is they have to come, most of the people in the community are afraid of the thermometer gun. They think maybe when they come and they check their temperature and it’s high they are COVID-19 positive or something. But I want to encourage them that they should come, it’s not anything so they should come and register,” a health official stationed at the Gina International School center in the La Nkwantanang Municipality told GhanaWeb.

The electoral commission on Monday started its much talked about compilation of a new voter register for the 2020 general election and is expected to finish the exercise on July 6, 2020.