The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has appealed to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo not to hesitate to issue a complete lockdown of the country as a means of protecting the citizenry against the deadly Covid-19.
According to the union, the risk of spread of the virus in the country remained high as community spread had already set in.
To this end, it has proposed a more aggressive measure to protect the people from the deadly virus.
A statement signed and issued in Accra by the secretary general of the union, Dr Yaw Baah said by all indications, the country’s health system was not equipped to address any mass outbreak of Covid-19.
“Our intensive care units (ICUs) can hold only a few patients at a time. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has already warned of a potential catastrophe in Africa if more radical measures are not taken now,” it said.
The statement noted that the experiences of advanced countries in the last few weeks had shown that no country had the health infrastructure to deal with Covid-19 totally as a result the success of the fight against spread depended on the efficacy of political measures.
“China which took the extreme but necessary measures and took them at the right time has largely been successful in combating the spread of the virus. Countries that hesitate to implement the right measures at the right time will suffer,” it emphasised.
While urging the President to consider a complete lockdown as a necessary evil to combat the spread of the pandemic, it called for only workers performing essential services to be allowed to work.
However, the statement said such individuals would have to be adequately protected from infection.
Furthermore it called for government to support pharmaceutical industries and others to be supported to produce basic household supplies, in addition to providing sanitisers to all residents in the country free of charge.
“These are extreme measures but they are necessary. We know that you have the courage to take these measures. Ghana is counting on you for direction in this unprecedented health crisis.
The statement also congratulated the President on the bold steps he had taken to combat the outbreak in the country so far.
By Times Reporter
