The Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) will from Monday April 27 start the enforcement of mandatory wearing of nose mask as a COVID-19 prevention measure.
This is in line with an advice from President Akufo-Addo encouraging the public to wear nose masks.
In line with the advice, the Greater Accra Regional Co-ordinating Council also came out with measures including mandatory nose mask wearing by the public in the Region as it has the highest people infected with COVID-19.
Mr Felix Mensah Nii Anang-La, Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive announcing this on Saturday said the intended enforcement by his outfit would be done under the Public Health Law Act 851, section 14.
He said this when Sentuo Steel Limited a subsidiary of Sentuo Group presented 10,000 disposable nose masks to the Assembly when the TMA launched its “Operation wear your nose mask in the harbour city”.
He said to ensure that people had no excuse not to wear their nose masks, the Assembly had procured over 20,000 branded washable nose masks to be distributed to the vulnerable in the area.
“Wearing of nose mask is going to be mandatory and we are going to enforce it, but we know that there are a lot of pockets of vulnerable people who cannot afford, so we as an Assembly has taken it upon ourselves to go round and distribute it for free so that when we are enforcing no one can say they can’t buy kit that’s why they don’t use it”.
He indicated that they would start the enforcement with the sharing of the nose masks after which those who refused to wear would be sanctioned by the Police to ensure full compliance.
He commended Sentuo Steel for responding to their plea saying they would use the disposable mask as a backup to give to people on the street who might have left their masks at home to ensure everyone in the public was protected.
Mr Emmanuel Ayensu, Consultant for Sentuo Group on his part indicated his outfit found it prudent to support the nose mask wearing measures especially after the lifting of partial lock down.
Mr Ayensu added that it was their hope that the public would wear the masks saying that implementation of the various protocols meant effectively driving away the virus from the country.
Source: GNA
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The lockdown has put a strain on businesses, so many don't have any money. TMA must distribute nose masks for free at vantage points. Several countries are doing it. GAs behave as if they contribute a pesewa to our foreign exchange reserves, and yet they go about arrogantly sacking cocoa farmers from Accra. According to several reports going round, GAs have been asking people who are not from Accra to leave Accra and go back to their hometowns (towns and villages) because they are not GAs. Clearly GAs don't know the role of a national capital. You don't need to go to school to know that gold is not mined in Accra, that cocoa is not grown in Accra, and that crude oil is not drilled in Accra. Yet, Accra is where Ghana spends virtually all her resources because it is the capital. Cocoa farmers, who bring over $3 billion dollars of foreign exchange revenue each year, do not have potable water, electricity, hospitals, motorable roads, and textbooks in their schools. What is the role of the capital? The capital of a nation hosts the seat of government. This is where the president and his ministers live and work. This is where representatives of all constituencies in the country (MPs) meet to deliberate issues. The chief justice and justices of the superior courts also live and work in Accra. Aside this, the capital hosts all the head offices of ministries and several government agencies. In fact several things can only be done in the capital, such as acquiring a passport, registering a business, or even initiating the payment of pensions. In addition to this, the capital hosts the head offices of businesses. Businesses not located in the capital also need to maintain at list an office for lobbying. All Ghanaians know that the national capital hosts several foreign missions and the head offices of several international organizations. It shouldn't be too difficult to understand why people from all over Ghana come to Accra, or live in Accra. Some are brought to Accra to maintain the official residencies of traditional authorities from all the other regions. Private citizens who regularly need to come to Accra do the same. Why then should a GA (an aborigine of Accra) ask a Ghanaian in Accra what he or she is doing in Accra? Ghanaians from the other regions are the strangers (aliens) to many of them. Why would anyone ask a Ghanaian to leave Accra because he or she does not belong to the indigenous ethnic group. Some even ask visiting traditional authorities why they come to Accra. Clearly, mass education needs to take place. Had a better arrangement for a capital been made at independence, would we have had this problem? No! But if I may ask, is this whole beautification of Accra objective prudent? If the various regions get some infrastructure, it would help all. A better arrangement for a national capital needs to be made.