Coronavirus: Bolga residents share how they are 'divinely' protected

Correspondence from Upper East:

With all the protocols fashioned to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic, there are some myths about the pandemic, which when not given the needed attention, might mar the efforts in trying to yield positive results.

Ghanaweb's Upper East Regional Correspondent Sarah Dubure, who took to the streets to engage with the public about the COVID-19 pandemic, had a section of them bringing to bare some myths surrounding the pandemic.

Azumah believed that God's protection was upon the folks in rural areas because of their innocence and ignorance.

He noted that they do not adhere to the protocols rightly; yet, they do not contract the virus.

According to him, most of them wear their masks for as long as two months without washing them, and yet, nothing happens to them.

He added that most of the rural folks do not wear the masks properly, as some hang them on their beards while others hang them on their ears, yet they hardly contract the disease.

"They just hear people say that they should wear masks. So what they do is that they just pick the mask, and they hang it on their beard, they even hang it on their heads. Some of them, they just hang on on their ears, unless you tell them to wear it well before they wear it well. There is a divine hand covering them," He added.

25-year-old Mary Akolgo said that she has her doubts about the existence of the pandemic.

According to her, when Parliament convened to elect the Speaker of Parliament, she noticed that most of the Parliamentarians were not adhering to the protocols entirely.

She added that if the sickness was real, she would have heard that some of them had contracted the disease and died of it.

Abraham Adakablah, a resident of one of the suburbs of Bolga, told Ghanaweb that residents over there religiously wear their nose masks during the day, but fail to do same at night.

He added that anytime they see him wearing the mask at night in town, they teased him.

"Anything they see me wearing it in the night, they tease at me. They always say "Ibi you alone way you want life?" To wit, he is not the only one who cherishes his life; they also do.

Another 'unbeliever' Mohamed Ayine, believed that the COVID-19 19 pandemic only thrived in areas where there was snow, and therefore had no business in the Upper East Region, where according to him, has a hot temperature.

Also, there is a widely-held belief among some of the rural dwellers that the COVID- pandemic is "a sickness for the rich people". To them, it is only contracted by the rich in society.

To conquer the COVID-19 pandemic as a nation, there is an urgent need for intensive education for the folks in the rural areas who do not have the privilege to watch television and be educated on it.

Assigning asemblymen and chiefs to educate the rural folks among other measures would be a more effective way to help in dismissing all these myths.