Ghana’s Ministry of Health (MoH) has cautioned the citizenry to ensure strict adherence to the COVID-19 safety protocols.

The current lukewarm attitude by the people in connection with the observance of the protocols, according to the Ministry, was worrying, especially at public places and social events

“Many Ghanaians have now stopped wearing nose masks and also abide by the other related preventive measures.

“The notion that the pandemic was no longer in existence must be discarded if we want to stay alive and healthy,” Mr. Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, the sector Minister, noted.

He said the impudence with which the safety protocols were being breached was not in the best interest of the nation as it could result in a resurgence of COVID-19 cases.

Addressing a durbar of the chiefs and people of Asante-Bekwai in the Ashanti Region, which had in attendance the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the Minister said the second wave of COVID-19 infections could come with a huge cost to the people.

The upsurge in cases related to the novel coronavirus in Europe, the United States, and other parts of the world should serve as a lesson to Ghanaians, the Minister advised.

“It is the responsibility of all and sundry to do the right thing since the country could not afford to impose another lockdown with its related socio-economic effects on the society,” Mr. Agyemang-Manu cautioned.

According to the Ghana Health Service’s portal on COVID-19, the country had as of Sunday, November 8, 2020, recorded 48, 904 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 47, 611 recoveries, and 320 deaths.

The country, whose management of the pandemic had been described as one of the best globally by health experts, had seen a rise in active cases recently.

The flagrant abuse of the protocols exacerbated by the recent political campaigns - where only some few people, including leaders of the respective parties, are normally seen wearing their masks, a vast majority of the people are adamant in observing the safety protocols.

Some Ghanaians, in a recent interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the pandemic, said they were reluctant to wear the nose masks because, in their estimation, the disease was no longer in existence.

President Nana Akufo-Addo, who attended the durbar as part of his four-day tour of the Ashanti Region, in a brief speech, added his voice to the call on Ghanaians to continue to maintain personal hygiene while also observing the safety protocols.