All the COVID-19 restrictions that Akufo-Addo has completely lifted

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo delivered what, perhaps, maybe his last update on the COVID-19 situation in Ghana, if not for a long time to come, on Sunday, May 28, 2023.

The 37-minute-long address also included an update from the president of the IMF deal that the country recently secured, as a way of offsetting the economic challenges that it has faced in recent months.

As part of the address, President Nana Akufo recalled a number of the restrictions that were imposed on the citizenry at the peak of the Coronavirus in 2020, some of which have stayed until now.

But announcing that the pandemic is no longer a health emergency or threat in Ghana, the president also announced the end to these restrictions in Ghana.

In this article, GhanaWeb looks at the restrictions from COVID-19 that were announced in 2020, and which have since been completely lifted by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

These were stated by the president in his address on May 28, 2023, and have been reproduced below:

In the first place, the following words are those that were said by the president before he announced the restrictions that were in place, and which have since been lifted.

“In the light of these facts, the COVID-19 Taskforce, which I chair, met on 17th May and took some far-reaching decisions on the measures we have put in place for the management of the pandemic, which were announced by the Ghana Health Service on 19th May. The most important of these decisions was that the COVID-19 pandemic was over in Ghana.

“Thus, all the outstanding Covid-induced restrictions at our airports and all entry points have been lifted, and we are back to the pre-COVID situation as far as health entry requirements are concerned.”

Now, here are the restrictions:

- Ghana’s international airport, the Kotoka International Airport, was shut
- Land borders were closed to human traffic
- Hotels, restaurants and other social gathering places were shut down
- Schools, universities and training institutions were shut down
- The Ghanaian symbol of handshakes were prohibited and frowned upon and people were advised not to hug their children and loved ones
- Churches, mosques and other places of worship were closed for months
- Beaches remained emptied of human activity due to the
- Restrictions were put on funerals and the numbers of people who could attend

The president, however, urged that such practices as the “regular hand washing and other personal hygiene measures” be maintained “so they become entrenched national habits.”

AE/OGB