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BOST, COCOBOD close offices to protect workers against COVID-19
The Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST) and the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) have announced the closure of their head offices in Accra, to ensure the safety of their staff against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
This was after some staff of the two state owned institutions tested positive of the coronavirus following a mass testing exercise carried out by management.
About 46 out of the 162 members of staff at the Information Technology (IT) department at the head office of BOST at Dzorwulu in the Ayawaso West Municipality, Accra, representing 28.4 per cent have tested positive for the disease.
A statement issued and signed by company’s Corporate Communications Department said “after the mass testing, a number of the staff tested positive and arrangements are being made for their treatment”.
It said this has necessitated the closure of the head office to the public, adding that contact tracing would be carried out on staff who tested positive to start self isolation immediately.
Furthermore, the statement stated that the head office would be fumigated over the period, to ensure the safety of staff was not compromised when work resumed.
“Management would further like to assure the general public that this arrangement will not negatively impact the operations of the company since all staff have the needed facilities and enhancements to work from home within the period,” it said.
Meanwhile a source told the Ghanaian Times that some of the affected staff were working from home as a control measure.
The COCOBOD on its part, will close down its head office for a fumigation exercise from today, July 8, 2020, to Friday, July 10, 2020.
This is after some of its workers tested positive for COVID-19 during a mass testing exercise.
According to a press release from COCOBOD on Monday, July 6, 2020, the closure “has become necessary due to the mass testing the organisation is currently undertaking which has resulted in some staff members testing positive for COVID-19.”
“All necessary arrangements have been made for the affected staff to receive the necessary medical attention and contact tracing is currently ongoing to enforce quarantine and isolation measures,” the statement added.
The COCOBOD has thus urged all individuals and companies with urgent business to contact its online portal.
COCOBOD was the latest workplace to be hit by significant COVID-19 infections.
The government has noted workplaces as contributing to recent surges in COVID-19 cases.
The BOST on Monday closed down its head office at Dzorwulu after 46 employees tested positive for the virus.
At a fish-processing factory in Tema, one worker was believed to have infected 533 other workers at the facility, contributing to the surge in cases in those areas.
The spread of the disease at the factory garnered international attention as it was the largest number of confirmed cases within a single organisation in Ghana.
In Obuasi, a surge in cases in May was traced to a couple doing business in the central market.
The workplace cases compelled the government to outline safety measures to guide institutions in tackling the spread of the virus at their premises.
Ghana’s COVID-19 case count currently stood at 21,968, at the latest count.
BOST, COCOBOD close offices to protect workers against COVID-19
Source: Ghanaian Times
Troubled and anxious citizens in Damongo of the Savannah Region have expressed concerns about the number of young people, believed to be under the age of 18, involved in ‘shisha’ smoking in pubs and drinking spots within the township.
Eyewitnesses say the minors were seen patronising nightlife venues, where Shisha smoking happen in the open.
The situation has sparked renewed public concern over the enforcement of child protection laws and regulations governing the operations of entertainment centres in the municipality and country as a whole.
An eyewitness, who spoke to The Spectator on conditions of anonymity for security reasons, noted that the situation was becoming increasingly common.
“This is not a one-off incident. It is becoming very common, but residents like us cannot openly report or speak about it because our lives will be at risk,” he said.
Under Ghanaian law, minors were prohibited from patronising Shisha.
Public health experts have consistently warned that shisha use exposes users to harmful substances that can negatively affect brain development, respiratory health, and overall well-being, particularly among young people.
The residents believe the alleged incidents point to broader challenges relating to youth supervision, substance abuse, and weak enforcement of existing regulations and have called on municipal authorities, security agencies, and regulatory bodies to intensify monitoring of pubs and entertainment centres to ensure compliance with the law.
In an effort to address the menace, Mr Salisu Be-Awurbi, the Savannah Regional Minister, has led public education campaigns, engaged security agencies, and supported enforcement actions to address the rising use of illicit substances in the region.
Wura Kelly Seidu Boresah I, the Chief of Damongo, has also called on all stakeholders including parents, community leaders, institutions, and young people to actively support efforts to curb drug abuse, warning that the rising consumption of hard drugs poses a serious health threat to the future of the youth in the Savannah Region.
He also cautioned individuals involved in the sale and distribution of illicit drugs to immediately desist from the practice, stressing that offenders will face arrest and prosecution in accordance with the law.
From Geoffrey Buta, Damongo, Savannah Region
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Dr Theresa Baffour, an advocate for ending violence and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SAHM SAHW Foundation, has said that society plays a critical and pivotal role in breaking the cycle of domestic violence.
According to her, domestic violence is a major contributor of making women, who are mostly the victims, mentally derailed and unable to engage in economic activities.
She said this when the foundation called on the Ga Mantse, Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, to solicit support for the initiative by the “Strong and Healthy Minds, Strong and Healthy Women” (SAHM SAHW) to combat domestic violence within the Ga State.
The visit was occasioned by the fact that domestic violence cases have become quite prevalent in the Ga communities and is retarding growth.
According to her, the canker was an impediment to national development because the victims were usually tortured and would have to go through series of therapies to return to the right state of mind.
Dr Baffour mentioned that Gender-Based Violence (GBV) places a mental toll on women, and was, therefore, important to break the cycle through comprehensive mental health support, crisis intervention and empowerment programmes in communities with high rates of GBV.
This intervention, she underscored, would help in empowering the denigrated victim of domestic violence to soundly heal, build and thrive.
Dr Baffour added that the initiative would provide holistic, trauma-informed mental health care and advocacy for young women affected by domestic violence.
According to her, the above statement would create safe spaces for healing and equipping them with entrepreneurial skills for renewed hope and empowered life.
The Ga Mantse pledged his support for the laudable initiative to combat domestic violence and also acknowledged the need to address it in the Ga State.
Further endorsement came from Justice Julia Naa-Yarley Adjei Amoah, Chief of Staff at the Office of the Ga Mantse, as she commended the team of SAHM SAHW Foundation for taking a bold step to end the canker in the Greater Accra.
She added that it was a step in the right direction to save vulnerable women from torture, stress and emotional abuse.
By Alfred Nii Arday Ankrah
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