The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), is calling on all media organisations and journalists to strictly adhere to all precautionary and safety measures recommended by the Ghana Health Service to prevent contracting COVID-19 in the line of their work.
The Association in a statement said journalists are at a greater risk of contracting the viral disease as they go on the field to report on the situation in order to inform the public.
“The health crisis is likely to have serious consequences on media practitioners and their working conditions in newsrooms, given the closeness of contact in their workplaces. The situation has become even more precarious with the recording of community transmission cases of COVID-19,” the statement said.
With 24 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ghana and one death recorded, the Association said journalists must endeavour to use personal protective equipment such as gloves and face masks, especially when engaging infected persons or reporting from compromised sites.
The GJA further announced that it will soon roll out training programmes for journalists on how to safely and effectively report on COVID-19 and equip the media with the appropriate information.
According to the Association, the training programmes, which will take off in Accra, will be extended to all the regions.
Source: Fiilafmonline/CitiNews
