COVID-19: Soon, mask-less people’ll be arrested, jailed – Agyemang-Manu

The Ghana Police Service will soon start arresting Ghanaians who go out without their facemasks, Health Minister Kweku Agyemang-Manu has warned.

The wearing of masks has been made mandatory following the outbreak of the pandemic in Ghana in compliance with the Public Health Act.

A directive recently given by the Ghana Health Service on behalf of the Minister of Health, said: “Pursuant to section 169 of the Public Health Act, 2013 (Act 851), the Minister responsible for Health by an Executive Instrument (E.I.61) declared COVID-19 a public health emergency. Section 170 (1) provides that the Minister of Health may order an individual to take a preventive measure in respect of public health matters”.

“The Minister of Health, thereby, directs the use of facemasks in all public places where it may be difficult to maintain social distancing. The general public is encouraged to wear a mask or face covering when going out whether sick or not or attending to a sick person.”

Speaking at a media briefing on Thursday, 14 May 2020, Mr Agyemang-Manu said: “All of us should become ambassadors to preach, wherever we are, that we should observe the basic rules or guidelines that have come out”, adding: “They are not very difficult to do”.

“So, I don’t understand why some of us do not do these things”, the minister complained.

He said: “We have been thinking about what next to do to enforce strict compliance of these basic guidelines”.

“We are working on that and very soon, we will see the police arresting some of us who are becoming too recalcitrant and when you are jailed three months for not wearing a mask in public, probably, you will take a cue from that”.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Ghana has gone up to 5,530, the Ghana Health Service said on Thursday.

Also, the number of recoveries has risen to 674.

Meanwhile, the death toll remains at 24.

The Greater Accra Region remains the hotspot of the country.