Editorial
Observing the protocols to bring COVID-19 under control
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.
Dear Editor,
I write to appeal to the Metro Mass Transit Limited (MMTL) to put some of their buses on the Kasoa–Circle route to ease the challenges passengers face every day.
It might interest you to know that going to and from Kasoa is no child’s play. Sadly, it appears we have been left to our fate and at the mercy of greedy ‘trotro’ drivers who employ various tactics to extort money from passengers.
One of the means they usually employ is that at the station, they’ll tell passengers they are not going to Kasoa. However, when you join these vehicles, they take passengers to a point and start calling for new passengers to a different destination. It continues like that until they reach Kasoa. At all the new stops, they collect fresh fares from passengers.
So, it is not true that they are not going to Kasoa — the only reason they do that is to take more money from passengers.
By this behaviour, one ends up spending about GH¢20 for a journey that should cost around GH¢11, and the same amount on the return trip.
This behaviour also results in long queues at the stations at night, giving robbers and pickpockets a field day as they mingle with passengers struggling for transport and end up stealing from them.
I want to plead with the Metro Mass management to put buses on this route to reduce the inconvenience we go through after a day’s work.
The management could also devise ways to make their operations more convenient and reliable, and must consider setting specific times so that passengers would know when buses arrive and when they depart.
Kwesi Pino
Kasoa
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Dear Editor,
I write with deep concern about a safety hazard and the dangers commuters are exposed to, especially those who walk in the area at night.
Along one of the busy roads in the capital — the Neoplan Station stretch of the ‘Accra Dubai’ road — lie several culverts with their metal coverings removed, leaving behind gaping holes that endanger everyone who uses the stretch.
It is a danger to commuters who walk around the area. As a regular visitor to that area, I find it very disturbing. In fact, a gaze into the drain can make one feel dizzy — it is very deep.
These are very common sights from the Railway Crossing area to the Awudome Cemetery area, bringing to the fore the activities of scrap dealers who are mostly blamed for the disappearance of the coverings.
They are dangerous and easy to miss. Children walking to school, the elderly, and even motorists risk serious injury if nothing is done.
This is not just a matter of inconvenience; it is a matter of life. We have seen too many cases where a simple oversight leads to irreversible harm.
A child could fall in. A motorcyclist could swerve and crash. A pedestrian could be injured in the dark. These are preventable tragedies, and we must treat them as urgent.
We cannot wait for disaster before we act. I urge the relevant authorities to inspect such areas, replace missing covers, and prioritise public safety. A simple fix today could save a life tomorrow. Let’s not look away — let’s fix what’s broken before it breaks someone.
Kelvin Acheampong
Dansoman
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