The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has said the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic presents an opportunity for Ghana to reduce drastically its over-dependence on imports.
He said the pandemic would have some consequences on national life, but the country should take the opportunity to start manufacturing locally some of the things it needed to manage the situation.
President Akufo-Addo said this in his opening remarks when he met captains of pharmaceutical companies, managers of the central bank and commercial banks, as well as regulators in the food and drugs business, at the Jubilee House in Accra yesterday.
The participants in the meeting were made to sit about two metres apart as part of measures to prevent the spread of the COVID-19.
They were made to wash their hands under running water, their temperatures were also taken, after which they were asked to use hand sanitisers.
Ghana has so far confirmed six cases of the COVID-19 that has wreaked havoc in over 150 countries and claimed more than 6,000 lives globally.
As part of measures to deal with the pandemic head on, President Akufo-Addo has directed that all public gatherings, including conferences, workshops, funerals, festivals, political rallies, sporting events and religious activities, including services in churches and mosques, be suspended for the next four weeks.
Before dispersing the media, he said Ghana should possess the capacity to become self-sufficient in the manufacture of items such as masks, hand sanitisers and disposable gloves – the basic items needed to combat the spread of the COVID-19.
While praying to Almighty God to shield the country from an increment in infections, he noted that should there be an increase in the incidents of infections, the country would be presented with a significant challenge.
