Ease in restriction: Award shows can be conducted within 2 hours – George Quaye

Events specialist, George Quaye, has described the president’s new directive that allows a limitless number of persons to attend events in this COVID-19 era as “good news”.

He is of the view that organisers of events can work within the two-hour time frame that has been given.

Following the recorded cases of COVID-19 in the country, the government placed a ban on all public gathering and later limited the number of persons that can be present at churches, weddings, funerals.

In his 15th address on the country’s fight against the pandemic however, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo lifted the ban but stressed ceremonies must not exceed two hours. He also encouraged organisers to ensure strict adherence to other protocols to help prevent the spread of the virus.

Speaking to GhanaWeb, George Quaye said the ban greatly affected the entertainment industry as they have had to cancel or postpone a lined-up of shows hence organisers can now heave a sigh of relief.

“We would have wanted a longer time duration but it is good news regardless and we are happy...for all you know, maybe we waste too much time at events and we don’t even know what we do… this 2-hour time frame will actually teach us how to do things a little quicker and not waste anybody's time,” he said.

Adding, “Sometimes, when you even think about it, why do we even sit at one event for about 4 hours or 5 hours? This time frame will push us to save our own time or we can actually split some events into two; do one part on day one and the other on day two”.

George Quaye also called on the public to adhere to all the safety protocols once organisers release the dates for any major event in the coming days.

He said: "We all know the impact of COVID-19 on the entertainment body, a lot of things have been shut down...We all need to follow the COVID-19 protocols, the president has said it but our safety lies in our hands. If we go there (events) and we are irresponsible, not wash our hands thoroughly, we do not use sanitizers, put our nose masks, and maintain social distancing, it is our own lives we are putting at risk”.