Shai-Osudoku District Urges Churches to Continue Adhering to COVID-19 Protocols.

The District Chief Executive, Hon Daniel Teye Akuffo together with the Public Health Emergency Committee of the Shai-Osudoku district on Monday 8th March 2021 and today donated Personal Protective Equipments (PPE's) to the local council of churches in Shai and Osudoku of the district to enable them continue adhering to the preventive measures put in place to mitigate the spread of the virus.

As part of measures taken into consideration to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, items which included 120 boxes of hand sanitizers and 2900 pieces of re-usable nose masks,20 gallons of liquid soaps were presented by the DCE who asked the church leaders to accept the donations and distribute them among their members.

He assured them that as time goes on, more of these PPE's will be donated to curtail the spread of the virus.

In an address, the District Health Director, Rev. Ebenezer Asiamah explained to the people why the Shai-Osudoku district is not part of the first phase of the vaccination.

He said out of the 29 districts in the Greater Accra Region including the municipal and metropolitan, about four districts are exempted from the first phase which includes Shai-Osudoku, Ada West, Ada East, and Ningo-Prampram.

"This is because the cases recorded in these districts are not that massive and severe as compared to the municipal and metropolitan. This is why the Shai-Osudoku district is exempted from the first phase."

 He, however, said the Shai-Osudoku district would be part of the second phase and encouraged everyone to take part in the vaccination exercise.

 "The vaccines are not harmful to human health but rather they are meant to protect human life. Irrespective of this the President, Ministers and other prominent persons took the lead in taking the vaccine and so far no report of complications or mal-functions has been heard".

In view of this, misconceptions about the vaccine were cleared such as "what will happen to someone who goes out of the district and gets vaccinated  and comes back to the district, will he or she be vaccinated again?"

 The District Health Director answered by saying the Ghana Health Service has issued a card that will be given to anyone who gets vaccinated so with this, there will be no need to get vaccinated again. He said in the case where someone gets vaccinated two times, the person has his or her own life at risk and self to blame.

He urged the people to help the district to educate others around on the measures and the reasons why they should get vaccinated adding that they should communicate what they have heard to their neighbors and friends to ease the load of the District Information Services.

 According to the District Health Director, the nose mask is part of the preventive measures and so it will be used for some time. The fact that one has been vaccinated does not determine that one would not get the virus, but the vaccine is meant to slow down the spread of the virus and to sustain anyone who has the virus for a bit longer. He said the wearing of the nose mask was still crucial even though there are vaccines.

According to the District Health Director, as at 7th March the district recorded 350 confirmed positive cases,62 recovery cases,285 discharged cases, and 10 deaths since last year.

He said because the vaccines are not enough, the Ghana Health Service had to consider the districts recording very high cases before considering those with few or fewer cases. He encouraged the people to partake in the vaccination exercise anytime it gets to their turn.

He also pleaded with them not to forget the washing of hands, using of alcohol-based hand sanitizers, disinfecting touched surfaces, and the social distancing even at the churches.

 He asked them to ensure that their church members have their nose masks on when entering the church premises and even during church service. 

"The District Taskforce will randomly visit churches and any church that does not adhere to the safety rules would be made to face the law and would be punished accordingly even if they have to work to pay for the offense" he cautioned.

The Chairman of the Local Council of Churches, Rev F.B Lawatey accepted the donations and thanked the assembly on behalf of the Local Council of Churches in Shai and Osudoku precisely for the donations and their good works.

"The people appreciate the work the assembly have been doing since the outbreak of the pandemic and they assure the district that they would cling to all the safety measures put in place to prevent the proliferation of the virus", he said.

SOURCE: ISD(SODA)