President Akufo-Addo has pledged that mistakes made during last year’s festive season will not be repeated this year.
This is why the Government is putting measures in place to prevent a fourth wave of Covid-19 in the midst of the new omicron variant.
Delivering his 27th Address on measures taken to fight the Covid-19 Pandemic, President Akufo-Addo said Government will ensure that appropriate measures are initiated so that the gains made are not eradicated.
President Akufo Addo said it has beefed up its response capacity to deal with the virus if there is an upsurge.
Over time, healthcare infrastructure has been expanded, including Oxygen supply and reach, particularly with respect to Testing and Treatment Centers and the Training of Health Professionals across the country.
”We should be guided by what transpired last Christmas, where there was a sharp spike in the number of COVID infection cases and deaths in the immediate months of January and February 2021. We should avoid the repetition of such a scenario after this year’s Christmas celebration. We do so by
a) ensuring that social events are held in open spaces;
b) ensuring that attendees wear masks;
c) ensuring that social distancing is observed;
d) observing enhanced hygiene protocols, such as hand washing and the use of sanitisers; and
e) encouraging attendees, as much as possible, to come vaccinated”.
”In as much as our active cases are now relatively low, the wearing of masks, unfortunately, remains low, and compliance with the safety protocols is still problematic”.
”Whilst the Government does its part to secure the necessary numbers of vaccines to help vaccinate all Ghanaians, we cannot afford to disregard the social distancing, hand washing, mask wearing and enhanced hygiene protocols that have brought us this far. They must continue to be a part and parcel of our daily lives and routines”.
”Getting the jab is the best route out of the pandemic, because, according to WHO, it reduces the risk of death, hospitalization and the spread of the virus. It is for this reason that we have committed ourselves to vaccinating some twenty million Ghanaians, that is the entire adult population, by the end of the year”
”After the start of an impressive vaccination drive in March this year, we were confronted with vaccine supply constraints and disruptions at the global level. Fortunately, in recent months, the supply situation has improved considerably, and we estimate that, by the end of December, we would have secured a total of some 26 million doses”.
”Indeed, as of yesterday, Tuesday, 14th December, the Ghana Health Service has taken delivery of 17,736,710 vaccine doses. We are expecting an additional 8,529,090 doses by the end of the year. We have enough vaccines in the system. So, my fellow Ghanaians, I encourage each and every one of you to take advantage of this, and get vaccinated”.