The National Identification Authority (NIA) has come under stern criticism after it refused to abort the mass registration exercises in the Eastern region despite President Akufo-Addo’s ban of mass gatherings in the country as a measure to curb the spread of Coronavirus pandemic.
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However, Today March 27 an Accra High Court presided by Justice Anthony Oppong has ruled that the National Identification Authority is entitled to continue with its mass registration exercise regardless of the directive against public gathering by the President.
Is with this that an outspoken and renowned Takoradi based blogger, Boga Ali Hashim has called on Ghanaians to boycott the National Identification Authority’s mass registration exercise to protect themselves from the disease.
He posted on his Facebook timeline that “The increase in the number of COVID-19 cases currently and the beginning of community spread of the disease in the country makes it imperative for citizens to protect themselves from the disease if state institutions such as the NIA are not willing to do same for various reasons.
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“Citizens must put their safety first. We must comply strictly with the social distancing and other safety measures to ensure their safety and security to make any headway.”
He continued that, “I know the importance of the Ghana Card registration to future endeavours such as elections, at this crucial stage, it believes the lives of citizens must come first ahead of any other interests.
“While we entreat citizens to stay away from all such exercises, we also call on the NIA and the Government to suspend the registrations to avoid any further endangering of the lives of innocent citizens.
“As the President rightly said ‘these are not ordinary times’. The World Health Organisation has also declared this a war against the Coronavirus, and that is the approach we all have to take,” he added.
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Coronavirus cases in Ghana
Since the outbreak of the disease in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, Ghana has recorded 136 cases with 3 deaths as of Friday March 27, 2020.
Majority of the confirmed cases are Ghanaians, who returned home from affected countries. Seven (7) are of other nationals namely: Norway, Lebanon, China, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom (UK).
The number of confirmed cases among travelers under mandatory quarantine who have been tested is seventy-eight (78).
In respect of contact tracing, a total of 1,006 contacts have been identified and are being tracked.
Out of these, two hundred and four (204) have completed the 14 days mandatory follow up.
