COVID-19: President Akufo-Addo lifts partial lockdown effective Monday

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has announced that the three-week partial lockdown on Greater Accra, Kasoa and Greater Kumasi will be lifted at 1 am on Monday, April 20, 2020.

President Akufo-Addo made this known in a televised address on Sunday night (April 19, 2020).

The president said the ease of restrictions was because of Ghana's ability to undertake aggressive contact tracing of infected persons among other factors.

The factors include, " the enhancement of our capacity to test, the expansion in the numbers of our treatment and isolation centres, our better understanding of the dynamism of the virus, the ramping up of our domestic capacity to produce our own personal protective equipment, sanitisers and medicines, the modest successes chalked at containing the spread of the virus in Accra and Kumasi, and the severe impact on the poor and vulnerable...".

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He added: "In view of our ability to undertake aggressive contact tracing of infected persons, the enhancement of our capacity to test, the expansion in the numbers of our treatment and isolation centres, our better understanding of the dynamism of the virus, the ramping up of our domestic capacity to produce our own personal protective equipments, sanitisers and medicines, the modest successes chalked at containing the spread of the virus in Accra and Kumasi, and the severe impact on the poor and vulnerable, I have taken the decision to lift the three-week-old restriction on movements in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area and Kasoa, and the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area and its contiguous districts, with effect from 1 am on Monday, 20th April.

"In effect, tomorrow will see the partial lockdown in Accra and Kumasi being lifted".

The President has also extended the closure of Ghana's national borders for two more weeks effective Monday, April 20, 2020.

The President further stressed that the lifting of the restrictions did not mean the country was letting down its guard.

He advocated for a greater adherence to the ban on social gatherings as well as social distancing protocols first announced on Wednesday, March 15.

He said those measures are still in force and have not been relaxed.