Some frontline workers have appealed to those who could work from home to stay home to reduce the rate of infections, from the coronavirus pandemic.

According to them, staying home is the surest way to avoid being exposed to the virus, which is wreaking havoc globally.

Speaking to The Spectator, the Director of Medical Affairs at the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC), one of the COVID-19 treatment facilities in the country, Dr Kwame Anim-Boamah, said the best way to prevent an infection is to avoid crowds, adding that if one did not have a vehicle, and had to join the public transport all the time to work, it exposes the fellow to the virus.

According to him, the public should take the precautionary measures seriously because the virus is real, and people are getting infected on daily basis.

“COVID-19 is real, patients come in everyday, it is with us, you don’t have to get it before you know it is true,” he said.

Dr Anim-Boamah said, currently, the UGMC is treating a number of COVID-19 patients, with others at intensive care.

He advised those who have chronic diseases like hypertension, diabetes and others to periodically go for checkup as scheduled with their doctors, because their condition could be aggravated after contracting the virus, and urged the public to observe the prevention protocols.

The Greater Accra Regional Police Public Relations Officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Afia Tengey also urged Ghanaians who have the means to work from home “because, we have been made to understand that the virus does not move, rather it is those infected who move to spread it.

“People who do not need to be present in their work places, should be made to stay home, because one risks getting infected when moving about,” she said.

She said that, the police would enforce various preventive directives issued by the state to ensure lives were protected.

DSP Afia Tengey appealed to the public to always wear face masks when moving out, constantly wash their hands, use hand sanitisers, and ensure physical distancing to slow the rate of infections in the country.

She also called on organisations to ensure all the preventive measures put in place by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) were adhered to.

Mr Frederick Drah,53 years, who is a COVID-19 survivor also pleaded with Ghanaians not to take the virus for granted, and urged people to diligently observe all the precautionary measures to slow infection.

“At times I see people gathered and behaving as if we are in normal times, and I ask myself, whether people are aware of what is happening,” he said.

He also appealed to the public to desist from stigmatising those who have recovered from the COVID-19, because he had become a victim of the disease.

Mr Frederick Drah is a trader at the Tema port, who through his daily trek to and from the port caught the deadly coronavirus, and consequently spent 22 days at the Ga East Municipal Hospital where he was treated and discharged. 

Currently, over 10,000 people have been infected by the virus, with about 3,755 recoveries and 48 deaths as at the time of reporting.

The country has been championing the mandatory wearing of face masks, hand washing, use of sanitisers and social distancing among others.

By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme