All over the world, countries are struggling to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic in order to save the lives of their people even though this has not been easy.

Ghana is among the countries that have worked so hard to bring the pandemic under control.

The world has praised President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his team for a job well done in spite of the challenges facing the country.

Unfortunately, some Ghanaians have become complacent and are no longer observing the COVID-19 protocols as was advised by the President and his team of medical professionals.

So, it came as no surprise when the Ghana Health Service announced the recording of a deadly variant, known as Delta, in the country on the second day of this month. The first Delta case was identified in December 2020, and the strain spread rapidly, soon becoming the dominant strain of the virus in both India and the United Kingdom.

In fact, researchers have said that the Delta variant, a SARS-CoV-2 mutation, is about 50 per cent more contagious than the Alpha variant, which was first identified in the United Kingdom.  Alpha was already 50 per cent more contagious than the original coronavirus first identified in China in 2019.

This means that people need to rigidly adhere to the wearing of nose masks and wash their hands regularly with running water. Furthermore, people must sanitise their hands with alcohol-based sanitiser to keep them away from possible infection.

The issue of social distancing is also quite important. During funerals, wedding and naming ceremonies in various parts of the country, the observance of COVID-19 protocols must be strictly adhered to.

The same principle of observance applies to schools, churches and mosques whenever they congregate for learning or for worship. These are realities that we cannot run away from.

The COVID-19 pandemic can only be eliminated or pushed away from society if we consistently keep to the protocols.

If Ghanaians do not lower down their guard, as has been pointed out by President Akufo-Addo, more progress can be made, so the earlier we keep to the observance of the COVID-19 protocols the better it will be for all.