Coronavirus: 'There should’ve been a lockdown by now' – Yieleh Chiereh

Former Minister of Health, Joseph Yieleh Chireh has said the Akufo-Addo government has delayed too much in declaring a lockdown to fight the coronavirus outbreak.

Ghana has, so far, recorded fifty-three cases of the virus of which two patients have died.

President Nana Akufo-Addo has banned all social gatherings and closed all the countries land, sea and air borders as part of efforts to curb the spread.

Also, all passengers that entered Ghana before Sunday’s border closure have been mandatorily quarantined and being tested, out of which twenty-six new cases were confirmed on Tuesday.

Following a press conference by the opposition National Democratic Congress on the situation on Tuesday, Mr Yieleh Chireh told journalists: “My candid view about a lockdown is that it is getting too late and when you allow the situation to alarm everybody, the lockdown will be difficult to do”.

“Indeed, if you look at it, we have to explain, in detail, what the directives the President has given mean and what the implications are but the lockdown can only be in respect of the big cities.

“Accra, Kumasi, by this time, there should have been a lockdown. It is unpleasant but in carrying it out, we will learn from the other countries. If we do not do this early and allow the disease to spread, by the time we lock down, almost everybody will be in distress,” he said