United In Fear, Prayer!

Ghanaians from all walks of life would this morning be observing a national day of fasting and prayer to seek God’s intervention in the wake of the Corona Virus pandemic

This follows the declaration of the day by President Nana Akufo-Addo in a televised broadcast to the nation.

This, he said, will be an addition to the adherence of measures rolled out to help contain the spread of the disease that has so far killed more than 17,000 people globally.

Prayers

Christian leaders last Thursday joined the President at the Jubilee House in Accra for a similar breakfast prayer meeting.

They prayed for the country and the medical staff on the frontline of the fight against the coronavirus.

Ghana recorded her first coronavirus fatality on Saturday, the victim said to have tested positive for the virus but had serious underlying health complications. Total confirmed coronavirus cases in Ghana stand at 52, with 20 deaths.

Addressing the nation on Saturday in his third briefing on the disease, President Akufo-Addo urged all – Moslems and Christians – to pray “to God to protect our nation and save us from this pandemic.”

He expressed gratitude to “the men and women of God who prayed for the nation with me on Thursday, and with the Vice President on Friday, for their intervention, referring to a prayer meeting he hosted at the seat of government, Jubilee House, on Thursday attended by a selection of noted clergymen, and a Friday Muslim prayer attended by Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia.

While urging everyone to observe recommended hygienic practices and social regulations, President Akufo-Addo also announced the closure of all Ghana’s borders -Land, Sea and Air – to human traffic for the next two weeks, beginning midnight on Sunday March 22.

The move is to stop the importation of the COVID-19 into the country. The closure would, however, not affect cargo.

Ghana At 52

Meanwhile, the Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman Manu has disclosed that Ghana’s coronavirus cases have jumped to 52, as at yesterday.

According to him, some 1,030 travellers into the country from Sunday were quarantined, resulting in the jump in recorded cases.

Of that number, 611 samples were taken.

A test for 185 of the travellers completed disclosed that 25 of them have COVID-19, he told journalists at the press conference in Accra.

Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Information Minister, said testing is still ongoing for all the arrivals who have been quarantined.

This means the numbers could rise.

The quarantine is part of directives from the Jubilee House on Sunday.