President Nana Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Sunday January 3, 2021 addressed the nation for the 21st time on measures his administration has put in place to fight Coronavirus.

He gave an update on the measures put in place by his government in the fight against Coronavirus since the easing of some of the restrictions.

The President also gave the green light for the opening of schools for academic work to continue.

Below are infographic detailing everything the President said in his address:

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Image may contain: 1 person, text that says 'UPDATE No.21: MEASURES TAKEN AGAINST SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS 7 Prior to their return to school, Government, through the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service, will ensure that all institutions public and private, are fumigated and disinfected Schools and institutions, with their own hospitals and clinics, will be equipped with the necessary personal protec- tive equipment, and have isolation centres to deal with any positive cases.'
Image may contain: 1 person, text that says 'UPDATE No.21: MEASURES TAKEN AGAINST SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS 8 All other schools and institutions, without their own clinics and hospitals, have been mapped to health facilities. There will be, for now, no mass gatherings and no sporting activities. However, religious activities for students at school, under the new protocols, will be permitted.'
Image may contain: 1 person, text that says 'UPDATE No.21: MEASURES TAKEN AGAINST SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS 9 Social distancing and the wearing of face masks must become the norm in our schools. The requisite provisions have been made to ensure that students at all levels of the education ladder receive the minimum number of contact hours upon their return to school.'
Image may contain: 1 person, text that says 'UPDATE No.21: MEASURES TAKEN AGAINST SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS 10 To facilitate the safety of students, Govern- ment, through the Ministry of Education, will provide face masks, Veronica buckets, hand sanitisers, liquid soap, rolls of tissue paper, and thermometer guns for the safe re-open- ing of the schools.'
Image may contain: 1 person, text that says 'UPDATE No.21: MEASURES TAKEN AGAINST SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS 11 The Ministry of Information, the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Health Service and the Ghana Education Service will from Monday, 4th January, commence a series of sensitisa- tion campaigns to help prepare, inform and educate guardians, students and the public on further modalities associated with the re-openings.'
Image may contain: 1 person, text that says 'UPDATE UPDATENo.21: No.21: MEASURES TAKEN AGAINST SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS 12 Iwant to use this address to assure all parents and guardians that Government is determined to protect the lives of all students, teachers and non-teaching staff, who will be returning to school from tomorrow. It bears repeating that everyone of them must adhere strictly to the protocols to protect themselves and others.'
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Image may contain: 1 person, text that says 'UPDATE No.21: MEASURES TAKEN AGAINST SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS 14 As of 1st Jnuary 2021, a total of 712 positive cases, out of 118,278 tests conducted, have been recorded among international arrivals at the Kotoka International Airport. Indeed, the month of December alone recorded 387 cases. The positivity rate among international arrivals rose from 0.26% in September to 0.93% in December.'
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Image may contain: 1 person, text that says 'UPDATE No.21: No. MEASURES TAKEN AGAINST SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS 16 I want to assure all Ghanaians that the testing regime in place at Kotoka is amongst the strictest in the world, and, as certified by the Food and Drugs Authority, it is capable of de- tecting this new variant of COVID-19, which is plaguing other nations around the world.'
Image may contain: 1 person, text that says 'UPDATE No.21: MEASURES TAKEN AGAINST SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS 17 In Update No. 20, prior to the Christmas fes- tivities, made a passionate appeal to you to ensure compliance with the COVID protocols, and reiterated that, amongst others, beaches, pubs, cinemas and nightclubs were to be closed until further notice. The Taskforce that advises me on COVID measures is constantly reviewing the situation, and will propose to me when it is safe to lift the restriction.'
Image may contain: 1 person, text that says 'UPDATE UPDATENo.21: No.21: MEASURES TAKEN AGAINST SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS 18 With the continuing difficulties occasioned by the pandemic, want to state that Govern- ment intends to continue to support the most vulnerable in our society.'
Image may contain: 1 person, text that says 'UPDATE No.21: MEASURES TAKEN AGAINST SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS 19 Government will, thus, continue to pay the electricity bills for our nation's 1 million active lifeline customers for the next three months, i.e. January, February and March. Additionally, all 1.5 million customers of the Ghana Water Company, whose consumption is not more than five cubic metres a month, will not pay any bills for the next three months, i.e. for the months of January, February and March. This relief will be reviewed at the end of March.'
Image may contain: 1 person, text that says 'UPDATE No.21: MEASURES TAKEN AGAINST SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS 20 With Ghana set to procure her first consign- ment of the COVID vaccines within the first half of this year, there is light at the end of the tunnel. But, we are not yet out of the woods. So, let us all continue down the path of strict adherence to the protocols There is nothing beyond us, the Ghanaian people, who were the first in sub-Saharan Africa to gain our freedom from colonial rule. We can do it.'
Image may contain: 1 person, text that says 'UPDATE No.21: MEASURES TAKEN AGAINST SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS 21 It has been my responsibility to come to your homes with these updates on twenty-one oC- casions, and, certainly it has been an honour and an absolute privilege to have served you as your President these past four years.'
Image may contain: 1 person, text that says 'UPDATE No.21: MEASURES TAKEN AGAINST SPREADOFCORONAVIRUS OF CORONAVIRUS 22 look forward to delivering on the mandate you have entrusted to me and my Govern- ment for the next four years, and, together, we shall defeat COVID, and steer this beloved country of ours back onto the path of progress and prosperity.'