COVID-19: Ban funerals, weddings again – Scientist to Akufo-Addo

Professor Gordon Awandare of the West African Centre for Cell Biology and Infectious Pathogens, has suggested to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to prohibit funerals, wedding and other large gatherings again following the rise in the daily count of the coronavirus infection in Ghana.

He said on the Key Point on TV3 Saturday January 23 that people attend these events in their masks but during the programme they remove them.

This situation, he said, puts them at a high risk of being infected with the virus.

Following the outbreak of the virus in the country last year, Mr Akufo-Addo placed a ban on large gatherings, weddings and funerals as a way of preventing the spread of the virus.

But the president lifted the ban after he was said it was safe do so based on science and data.

Prof Awandare told host of Key Point Abena Tabi that there is the need to prohibit these events again.


“There are some social events that are not essential, funerals and weddings. Let us ban them again. You go to these events and initially all of them wear a mask but as it goes on they remove it.

“If people will not be responsible enough to postpone their weddings and funerals we need to compel them to do that.”

Ghana’s current active case count is 2,413, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has said.

The total case recorded is 59,480 with 56,706 recoveries.

361 persons have however, died from the virus.

A Professor of Clinical Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Fred Binkah, for his part asked the government to provide free masks to Ghanaians as part of efforts to fight the coronavirus.

He told host Abena Tabi that the goal is that everybody must wear a mask,” and so “Let us provide the mask for free” and then the recalcitrant who fail to wear them should be punished.

Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has appealed to all Ghanaians to wear their masks.

“Our daily count is getting higher. Please please do mask up,” he said in a tweet.