Ghana: Lockdown Lifted in Key Regions

Ghana has lifted a three-week lockdown in two regions of the country, as its administration made an announcement to change gears in response to coronavirus (COVID-19).

In a televised address on Sunday, 19 April, President Nana Akufo-Addo announced the lifting of restrictions on movement around the capital of Accra, as well as Kusami, in the Ashanti region. Both cities are located in the southern parts of the country.

He stated that improved testing, and the adverse effect the lockdown had on the poor, as the main reasons for reversing the constraints in response to COVID-19.

Akufo-Addo went on to thank all of the country’s citizens for “bearing with Government [sic]”, and for sacrificing for the “collective good”.

The announcement advised that non-essential businesses in the two population centres could re-open the following day, but residents must maintain social distancing.

The west African nation currently has 1 042 confirmed cases of COVID-19, while nine people have died from the contagion.