ghananlpcommunity/ghana-gov-speeches-sentences huggingface dataset:
The continuous havoc being experienced by some countries, as a result of the virus, is a testament to the fact that, until all countries have rid themselves of the virus, and have achieved herd immunity, none is safe.
So, let us all continue to adhere to the COVID-19 safety protocols that are now part of our day-to-day activities.
We see the rewards for our compliance with the protocols, whenever we witness favourable scenarios in our fight against the virus, evidenced in the easing of some of the restrictions.
I am particularly happy that the significant investments we have made in ensuring compliance with the safety protocols have enabled us to open, in safety, all schools, private and public, at all levels, and I want to thank parents, teachers and students for making them work.
We have also put in place the necessary protocols that have allowed us to return to churches, mosques, workplaces, markets, stadia, and to travel.
Our ability, however, to congregate in closed spaces, like cinemas, theatres and nightclubs, remains restricted.
In a move towards the reopening of cinemas and theatres, Government has engaged cinema owners and operators on a set of protocols and guidelines that need to be put in place and implemented by all operators before eventual re-opening.
In the coming weeks, the Ghana Health Service and the Ghana Tourism Authority will be announcing these protocols and mandatory modalities, and work with the operators on a set of directives that will ensure the health and safety of all patrons and staff in all the facilities involved.
I remain optimistic that we can return our lives to normal if we co-operate and work together.
Let the reduced rate of infections not lull us into a false sense of security; let us continue to adhere to the safety protocols, i.e., the enhanced hygiene and mask wearing protocols; let us take the vaccine when it gets to our turn; and let us continue to put our faith in Almighty God.
There is light at the end of the tunnel, our goal of zero active cases is in sight if we remain vigilant and steadfast.
I have not come into your homes for some time, because I had hoped that the next time I did so, I would come to announce that we were ready to lift the restrictions and protocols, and get our lives and economy back to normal.
Alas, that is not the case, so it has become necessary for me to come to your homes this evening, after a ten (10) week absence, to provide you with an update on our nation’s COVID-19 situation.
As per data available from the Ghana Health Service, it appears that, unfortunately, our nation, like many others, is experiencing a third wave of COVID-19 infections.
These increased infections have largely been driven by the Delta Variant of the virus, which, according to the World Health Organisation, has increased transmissibility rates, and, in our case in Ghana, has led, in recent weeks, to a rise in hospitalisation and ICU bed uptakes, and, tragically, deaths.
Indeed, in Update No.25, the last update I rendered on 16th May, our total active case count stood at one thousand, three hundred and fourteen (1,314), with our daily infection rate standing at one hundred (100).
One million, one hundred and twenty-one thousand, one hundred and sixty-eight (1,121,168) COVID tests had been conducted, out of which ninety-two thousand, four hundred and sixty (92,460) persons had been infected, ninety-one thousand, one hundred and forty-six (91,146) persons had recovered, with a total of seven hundred and eighty-three (783) deaths.
Since that update, the situation improved significantly, whereby, in June, our active cases stood at some one thousand, two hundred (1,200); our daily infection rate fell to fifty (50) cases; and we recorded ten (10) deaths in the whole of the month.
However, in recent weeks, we have seen a marked increase in the number of cases.
As at Friday, 23rd July 2021, three (3) weeks later, the Ghana Health Service is now reporting that our total number of active cases stands at four thousand, five hundred and twenty-one (4,521).
A total of one million, four hundred and six thousand, and eleven (1,406,011) tests have been conducted, out of which one hundred and two thousand, one hundred and three (102,103) persons have been infected with the virus, and ninety-six thousand, seven hundred and fifty-nine (96,759) persons have recovered.
Our daily infection rate for the past week is three hundred and fifty (350) cases, and, sadly, forty (40) more people have died from COVID over the last ten (10) weeks, bringing the cumulative number of deaths to eight hundred and twenty-three (823) since the onset of the pandemic.
Greater Accra and Greater Kumasi Metropolitan areas remain the hotspots of infections.
This entire development is very alarming.
Fellow Ghanaians, it is obvious from the data that we have let our guard down, with many going about their daily duties in clear breach of and disregard for the protocols.
At a time when the economy is on the rebound, and business activities picking up, we must do everything possible to contain this outbreak.
We cannot afford to return to the days of partial lockdowns, which brought considerable hardships and difficulties for all of us.
You returned me to office in the elections of 7th December with a clear and decisive mandate to protect lives and livelihoods, and steer our nation out of the grips of the pandemic, and onto a path of sustained economic growth and progress.
Fortunately for us, we have tried and tested response protocols which we have implemented since March 2020.
They have stood us in good stead, and we have no choice but to return to the strict implementation of some of them.
It is extremely troubling to note that the high compliance rate with mask wearing has fallen alarmingly.
The wearing of masks in public places, fellow Ghanaians, continues to be mandatory.
There are no exceptions to this rule, and strict conformity with this protocol will be enforced.
Anyone found to be flouting this directive will have him or herself to blame.
We cannot afford anyone’s recklessness to endanger the lives of the majority of persons in the country.
The COVID-19 Taskforce, which I chair, has recommended that a second look be taken at the protocols that have been put in place for social and public gatherings, in particular weddings and funerals, across the country.
I have, in previous updates, emphasised the need for the strict observance of safety protocols at all such gatherings.
To ensure that such gatherings do not become the sources of infections, the following must be adhered to by all at these gatherings: the wearing of masks continues to be mandatory, and persons must respect the enhanced hygiene protocols; all such events must be held in open air spaces; 2. the duration of such events is limited to two (2) hours; 3. there must be observance of the one (1) metre social distancing rule; and 4. handshakes must be avoided.
Furthermore, given that people sitting together to eat, drink, laugh, dance and talk in large gatherings, without masks, are the riskiest activities for spreading the virus, all post-event receptions, particularly related to weddings and funerals, are banned.
I want to reiterate that protocols surrounding activities in churches and mosques remain the same, as are protocols in schools.
With workplaces currently witnessing a resurgence in COVID-19 infections, it is important that owners and management of businesses and workplaces implement strictly the guidelines on staff management and workplace protocols, such as the use of a shift system and technology, mask wearing, social distancing and hygiene protocols, as was required in the earlier days of the pandemic.
Mask wearing in commercial vehicles and in market places continue to be mandatory.
The Ghana Health Service has moved to fortify its contact tracing, testing and treating campaigns, especially across the hotspots of Greater Accra and Greater Kumasi Metropolitan areas.
COVID-19 treatment centres continue to be resourced with medical supplies, personal protection equipment, and health workers.
We will continue to ensure that all arriving passengers at the Kotoka International Airport are in possession of a negative PCR test result upon their arrival in Ghana, a test which should have been conducted not more than seventy-two (72) hours before the scheduled departure from the country of origin.
In addition, all passengers will continue to be subjected to a mandatory COVID test on arrival.
Fellow Ghanaians, indications are that, in the course of this quarter of the year, the availability of vaccines for our country will ramp up.
Government is, therefore, standing by its commitment to vaccinate twenty million Ghanaians, i.e., the entire adult population, by the end of this year, in spite of the huge global demand for vaccines by countries, and the surge in infections the world over.
So far, one million, two hundred and seventy-one thousand, three hundred and ninety-three (1,271,393) vaccine doses have been administered, with eight hundred and sixty-five thousand, four hundred and twenty-two (865,422) persons having received a single jab, and four hundred and five thousand, nine hundred and seventy-one (405,971) persons have received their full dose of two (2) jabs.
We are expecting, through the COVAX facility and the African Union, one million, two hundred and twenty-nine thousand, six hundred and seventy (1,229,670) doses of the Pfizer vaccines from the Government of the United States of America, and two hundred and forty-nine thousand (249,000) AstraZeneca vaccines from the Government of the United Kingdom.
Government is also in the process of procuring seventeen million (17 million) single dose per person Johnson & Johnson vaccines, through the African Medicine Supply Platform, in this quarter.
We have, as such, upgraded our national, regional and district cold chain facilities in order to widen our access to vaccines like Pfizer and Modena, that require minus seventy degrees Celsius (-70℃) cold chains.
These include sixteen (16) ultra-low cold freezers, fifty-eight (58) units of ultra-low freezers, fifty (50) normal vaccine refrigerators, three hundred (300) boxes to be filled with ice packs, three hundred (300) ice packed freezers, ten (10) cold chain vans, and one hundred and twenty (120) temperature monitoring devices.
These are in addition to the existing Zipline cold chain distribution service, for which we are grateful.
I thank, as well, UPS, the American multi-national shipping, receiving and supply chain management company, and Kosmos Energy, the American oil and gas company, for their generous donations towards this development.
Fellow Ghanaians, it is important to stress, once again, that all the vaccines to be used in the country have been certified as safe-for-use by our national regulatory agency, the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA).
There should, therefore, be no hesitancy amongst the population who are yet to be vaccinated.
As the oft-cited saying goes, it is better to be safe than sorry.
The global shortage of vaccines means that we must develop our capacity to produce our own vaccines domestically, and reduce our dependence on foreign supplies.
We must be self-sufficient in this regard in the future, and prepare ourselves better to deal with any such occurrences in the future.
To this end, the Committee I established, under the leadership of the world-renowned Ghanaian scientist, Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, to investigate Ghana’s potential as a vaccine manufacturing hub, to meet national and regional needs, has presented its preliminary report which, amongst others, recommends the establishment of a National Vaccine Institute to spearhead this development.
Government has committed to inject seed funding of some twenty-five million United States dollars (US$25 million) this year into this whole enterprise.
The Institute will be charged with delivering six clear mandates: establishing local vaccine manufacturing plants; 2. deepening Research & Development (R&D) for vaccines in Ghana; 3. upgrading and strengthening the FDA; 4. forging bilateral and multilateral partnerships for vaccine manufacturing in various areas, such as funding, clinical trials, technology transfer, licensing, and assignment of intellectual property rights; 4. building the human resource base for vaccine discovery, development, and manufacture; and 5. establishing a permanent national secretariat to coordinate vaccine development and manufacture.
In the short term, the Frimpong-Boateng Committee is facilitating the capacity of domestic pharmaceutical companies to fill and finish COVID-19 vaccines.
Fellow Ghanaians, we must remember that the virus continues to jeopardise our lives and livelihoods.
Without doubt, God has been gracious to us.
I appreciate that the wearing of masks is difficult for all of us, but I entreat you to wear the mask.
This is what will save us.
I ask this evening that we remain steadfast in our adherence to the protocols, so we can overcome this third-wave of infections.
If we do so, we will soon be able to return to our normal way of life.
Zero active cases must remain the overarching goal, and I have no doubt that, together, and with the help of God, this too shall pass, for the Battle is still the Lord’s.
It has been some time since I last came into your homes on a matter that has grabbed not only our attention, but that of every country in the world.
However, as Christmas approaches, with its attendant, charged activities and with an expected influx of visitors, it is important that I come back into your homes to provide an update on what Government is doing to combat the pandemic, and what is expected of you, the Ghanaian people, in this season.
When I delivered the last update, I indicated that, in spite of the efforts to rid the nation of COVID-19, the fight was far from over, as we had begun to experience a third wave of COVID-19 infections, driven largely by the delta variant.
The data tells us that the months of August and September, in particular, were the most devastating.
Some three hundred and ten (310) lives were lost to the virus in those two months alone, representing a quarter of the cumulative deaths from the virus since we recorded our first case in March 2020.
In the months of October and November, a consistent decline in infection rates occurred, and, mercifully and by the Grace of God, this has continued right into early December.
As at Sunday, 12th December, some 2,042,778 tests have been conducted, out of which 131,911 positive cases have been recorded.
129,683 persons have recovered, meaning that, presently, the number of active cases, that is the number of people with the virus, stands at 973 persons.
In as much as this represents some degree of good news, we have, sadly, had 1,255 persons dying from COVID-19.
The current data suggests quite a favourable COVID situation prevailing in Ghana, and I say this only to encourage each one of us to continue to be vigilant, and adhere to the enhanced hygiene protocols which have served us so well so far.
Three regions, i.e., Ashanti, Greater Accra and Volta, have the bulk of infections.
Seven (7) regions have single-digit infections, and six (6) regions, that is Ahafo, North East, Oti, Savannah, Upper West and Western North, at the moment, have zero (0) active cases.
We must do everything possible, at the very least, to maintain this situation, especially as the festive season approaches.
We are expecting, in this month of Christmas, a large number of visitors, overseas Ghanaians and foreigners, into the country.
With the Immigration Service doing a yeoman’s job by intercepting many foreign nationals trying to enter the country through unapproved routes, Government’s concern has been to limit the importation of the virus through the Kotoka International Airport.
As things stand, international passengers arriving at Kotoka constitute the highest source of infections in the country, leading us to take drastic measures recently to prevent the importation of the virus from increasing the numbers of infections in the country.
The Ghana Health Service tells us that an overwhelming majority, that is 75%, of the positive cases recorded at Kotoka have come from passengers who are not vaccinated.
Beginning yesterday, Tuesday, 14th December, Government has decided that all visitors coming to Ghana have to be fully vaccinated.
Furthermore, all persons seeking to travel outside the country must also be fully vaccinated.
Fully vaccinated passengers coming to Ghana must, in addition, be in possession of a negative PCR test of not more than seventy-two (72) hours, and also take a mandatory COVID test upon arrival at the airport.
Children aged five (5) to twelve (12) will not pay for the test.
Any passenger, testing positive at the airport, will be kept in isolation, at a designated isolation facility, and a non-Ghanaian will receive treatment at his or her own cost.
Communications have been duly sent to all airlines flying into Ghana of the imposition of a three thousand, five hundred dollars (US$3,500) fine for each unvaccinated passenger that is allowed to board a flight into the country.
Unvaccinated Ghanaians and residents in Ghana, who departed the country before 14th December, and who return by 28th December, will be offered vaccination on arrival at the airport.
Further details will be provided by the Ghana Health Service.
These are stringent measures, I know, but the benefits far outweigh the negatives.
As your President, it is my duty to protect lives and livelihoods.
The ravages of COVID-19 have been devastating on our economy, and I am determined to return us to our normal way of life as quickly as possible, by helping to defeat the pandemic.
We should be guided by what transpired last Christmas, where there was a sharp spike in the number of COVID infection cases and deaths in the immediate months of January and February 2021.
We should avoid the repetition of such a scenario after this year’s Christmas celebration.
We do so by: a) ensuring that social events are held in open spaces; b) ensuring that attendees wear masks; c) ensuring that social distancing is observed; d) observing enhanced hygiene protocols, such as hand washing and the use of sanitisers; and e) encouraging attendees, as much as possible, to come vaccinated.
In as much as our active cases are now relatively low, the wearing of masks, unfortunately, remains low, and compliance with the safety protocols is still problematic.
Whilst Government does its part to secure the necessary numbers of vaccines to help vaccinate all Ghanaians, we cannot afford to disregard the social distancing, hand washing, mask wearing and enhanced hygiene protocols that have brought us this far.
They must continue to be a part and parcel of our daily lives and routines.
Getting the jab is the best route out of the pandemic, because, according to WHO, it reduces the risk of death, hospitalisation and the spread of the virus.
It is for this reason that we have committed ourselves to vaccinating some twenty million Ghanaians, that is the entire adult population, by the end of the year.
After the start of an impressive vaccination drive in March this year, we were confronted with vaccine supply constraints and disruptions at the global level.
Fortunately, in recent months, the supply situation has improved considerably, and we estimate that, by the end of December, we would have secured a total of some 26 million doses.
Indeed, as at yesterday, Tuesday, 14th December, the Ghana Health Service has taken delivery of 17,736,710 vaccine doses.
We are expecting an additional 8,529,090 doses by the end of the year.
We have enough vaccines in the system.
So, my fellow Ghanaians, I encourage each and every one of you to take advantage of this, and get vaccinated.
So far, we have been able to administer only 6,420,973 doses out of the 17.7 million we have at our disposal.
Let me state, as clearly as I can.
The vaccines are safe.
They will not harm you.
They will protect you and your family.
Contrary to the mischief being peddled by some, getting vaccinated will not cause you to vote for the NPP in the 2024 elections, if you do not want to.
This is an outrageous claim .Vaccination cannot change your political preferences.
That is not its purpose.
There are significant quantities of vaccines deployed to every corner of the country.
We have, thus, declared the month of December as the vaccination month, and we are rolling out an aggressive campaign of vaccination, so that as many Ghanaians as possible have the opportunity to be vaccinated.
It is a race against time, but we are determined to accomplish it.
Two days ago, on Monday, I was in Luxembourg, where I held discussions with the President of the European Investment Bank, Herr Werner Hoyer, on Ghana’s COVID-19 Response Plan.
An €82.5 million facility has been approved for Ghana by the Bank for use in the effort to strengthen healthcare delivery, and the provision of specialist medical equipment and medicines across the country.
Government has set aside €20 million of this to establish the National Vaccine Institute, which will supervise the domestic production of COVID-19 and other vaccines, led by the private sector and business community.
As you know, the decision to close our borders, which are a source of livelihoods for many, was necessary because we wanted to limit the importation of the virus into the country.
We are monitoring the level of threat of the disease and ongoing vaccinations in our neighbouring countries, and, as soon as we are satisfied that it is safe to do so, the borders will be open.
Until then, I believe this is not the right time to reopen our land borders, especially as we are determined to prevent a 4th wave, and, as such, they will remain closed until further notice.
Government has beefed up its response capability and capacity to deal with the virus should we encounter an upsurge in infections.
Over time, we have expanded our healthcare infrastructure, including oxygen supply and reach, particularly with respect to testing and treatment centres, and the training of health professionals across the country, in the care of severe and critically ill persons.
However, our best bet in the fight remains adhering to the enhanced hygiene, social distancing and mask wearing protocols, and getting vaccinated.
Let us choose to live and act responsibly throughout the Christmas festivities, and remember that our actions or inactions will either help to end the pandemic at a much faster rate, or continue to spread the virus in the country.
I, on my part, will do everything possible to protect lives and livelihoods, and help return our nation to normalcy.
It is possible, and the Government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is determined to realise this goal as quickly as possible.
I first came to your homes on Wednesday, March 11, 2020, five days after our nation’s 63 rd Independence Day celebration, a day before we recorded our first two cases, with news of the measures government was taking to limit the importation of the Covid-19 virus into the country.
I, therefore, instructed the Finance Minister, which was announced in Update No.1, to find the cedi equivalent of one hundred million dollars ($100 million), to enable us to prepare and mount an appropriate response to the pandemic.
Since then, we have experienced four waves of the outbreak.
Some 160,932 people have tested positive from the 2.4 million tests conducted, and 1,445 people have, sadly, died.
Government also found the money to recruit, on a permanent basis, 24,285 more health professionals.
Some ¢1.6 billion was made available to support vulnerable households across the country, which went into food packages and hot meals, and the provision of free water for all, free electricity for lifeline consumers, and 50% rebate for all others.
Some ¢750 million in soft loans and grants were also disbursed to micro, small and medium sized businesses to help maintain their economic activity.