President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has reiterated that the just-ended electoral campaign and elections did not increase the cases of the novel coronavirus.

He said during his 20th televised address to the nation on Sunday, December 20, that Ghana’s coronavirus cases continue to remain steady and recording between 100 and 130 daily infectious cases.

“It has been some six weeks since that appeal, and, within that period, we have had a vigorous political campaign season, and elected a President and 275 Members of Parliament by over 13 million Ghanaians, across some 38,000 polling stations, in accordance with the effective safety protocols put in place by the Electoral Commission. Despite the genuine fears of many that we would see a surge in cases, we have, on the contrary, witnessed a stable daily rate of infection of between 130 and 100 cases,” President Akufo-Addo said in his address.

He added, “Indeed, the total number of active cases has reduced marginally from 1,139, as at Friday, November 6, 2020, to 946 as at Friday, December 18. Our hospitalisation rates continue to be very low, and our treatment centres are virtually empty. As per data from Ghana Health Service, some regions, at the moment, have no recorded active cases, and long may this continue.”

Akufo-Addo further urged Ghanaians not to let their guard down and continue to adhere to the social distancing, hand washing, hand hygiene, and mask-wearing protocols which serve us well.

He noted that “our heroic health workers have seen to 52,675 recoveries, for which the country is extremely grateful. Unfortunately, 13 more deaths from COVID-19 and its complications have been recorded, bringing the total number of fatalities to 333 out of the 53,954 confirmed cases. May their souls rest in peace.”

The President stated that the data tells us that Ghana is experiencing clusters of cases linked largely to confined indoor spaces with poor ventilation, workplaces, offices, factories, schools, parties, and arriving passengers at our airport.