The Sunyani Municipal Assembly has directed all shop and store owners to close their facilities from 0600 hours to 0900 hours and participate in a massive clean-up exercise scheduled on Saturday, May 16 in the Municipality.

A statement signed by Madam Justina Owusu-Banahene, the Sunyani Municipal Chief Executive, and copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Thursday explained the clean-up exercise was aimed at improving the city’s efforts in the fight against the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).

“It’s also aimed at positioning the city of Sunyani in readiness to receive the rains and to avoid flooding and other health related ailments”, it stated.

In a related development, the Sunyani West Municipal Assembly has distributed 4,000 nose masks to residents in the area to protect them from contracting the COVID-19.

Beneficiaries were mostly market women, commercial drivers, motor riders and the aged in the communities such as Odumase, Nsoatre, Chiraa, Dumasua, Ayakomaso, Fiapre and Mantukwa.

Mr. Martin Obeng, the Sunyani West Municipal Chief Executive who led the Sunyani Municipal COVID-19 taskforce for the distribution exercise advised the beneficiaries to wear the nose masks and wash their hands with soap under running water frequently.



He told them especially the market women to adhere to the social and physical distancing protocols and avoid handshake.

Mr. Obeng reminded them it was compulsory for everyone to wear the nose-masks in public, saying those who failed to do so commit offence punishable by law.

“This is why the Assembly has targeted to distribute as many as 30,000 nose masks to residents free of charge so that no one would have the excuse or justification not to put on the nose masks”, he added.

He said contracts were awarded to local manufacturers to sow about 6,000 pieces of reusable nose masks for distribution and advised people who did not get and could not buy some of the nose masks to have patient.

Mr Obeng commended the Sunyani Municipal COVID-19 Taskforce for the high level of commitment shown in curtailing the spread of COVID-19 in the municipalities.

Superintendent Alhassan said the Taskforce was determined to ensure that residents in the Sunyani and Sunyani West Municipalities complied with all government directives geared towards stemming the spread of the COVID-19.