It is the responsibility of every individual in the country to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus, the Ghana Coalition of NGOs stated on Thursday.

Although Government may take key preventive measures, the virus would not stop spreading if people continue to behave irresponsibly by not taking basic safety measures, Dr Gabriel Benarkuu, Chairman, Ghana Coalition of NGOs in Health, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview.

He said with the further spread of the virus and a steady increase in COVID-19 related deaths, there is the need now more than ever, to go the extra mile in the fight against the pandemic.

"The virus is infecting all categories of people including the politician and some are even dying," he said, adding that the turnout of events concerning the pandemic, calls for a strong, well-coordinated and united approach, towards fighting it.

Dr Benarkuu urged individuals to always use the face masks and hand sanitizers on them, and ensure that they practise all the safety protocols on the prevention of the spread of COVID-19 to a fault.

He urged religious bodies and other groups, to continue to abide by the safety protocols on the fight against the spread of COVID-19.

"There would be disastrous consequences if the request by some religious bodies for the full resumption of religious activities is granted," Dr Benarkuu said.

He urged the media to only disseminate information on COVID-19, given out by qualified health experts, adding that this would ensure that the public was well educated on the pandemic, and its prevention.

Dr Benarkuu called for a review of the national directive on the fight against the pandemic, which should involve every identifiable group and organisation in the country.

He mentioned some key factors that had to be tackled as stigma reduction, increased testing for the virus, and intensified education on safety and preventive measures among others.

Dr Benarkuu also called for the decentralisation of the testing centers for the diseases adding that many areas were lagging when it came to testing because the process had not been decentralised.