The National Democratic Congress' parliamentary candidate for Suhum, Amanda Okyere Kwatia, has said although prayers are good to deal with the novel coronavirus infection in Ghana, the country needs more practical measures from the government.

She said on Ghana Yensom on Accra 100.5FM Wednesday, March 25 that countries that are dealing with the outbreak of the infection do not rely heavily on prayers but rather practical solutions.

She explained that although Italy is the hub of Christianity, the plague is killing more people in that part of the world, a situation she said demonstrates that faith alone is not enough to deal with the menace.

Her comment comes in the wake of the nationwide prayer and fasting on Wednesday against the coronavirus outbreak in Ghana.

Ghanaians all over the country, including Muslims and Christians observed the fast and prayed in hope of finding a solution to the pandemic.

But Ms Kwatia said: “We all know Italy has Vatican City where the Pope prays all the time but the virus is killing them. It tells you that although prayers are good, that alone, without practical measures, cannot deal with the problem.

“The question we should be asking is what measure has the President actually implemented to deal with the problem?”

She added: "My suggestion to the president is that he can implement a one-man-one-sanitiser policy.”

Responding to her claim on the same show, Freda Agyeman Sarpong, an aspiring parliamentary candidate for Adentan, on behalf of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), said the government has taken measures which include the closure of borders and also quarantining persons who travel into the country.

She stated that the government is not relying on prayers alone.

“Travelers who come into the country are being quarantined and also we have measures like the closure of the entry ports into the country.”

She added: “We should be very careful not to politicise this matter because the virus knows no politician.”