President Nana Akufo-Addo has urged Ghanaians to remain calm and adhere to the precautionary measures for COVID-19.

Addressing the nation on Sunday, April 5, 2020, in his fifth update on COVID-19 epidemic, President Akufo-Addo noted that the obedience of Ghanaians to the health directives regarding the virus will be the ultimate decider for the government to lift the restrictions on them sooner or later.

He asked Ghanaians for their "continued patience, support, vigilance and adherence to the measures" and further advised every citizen to "play his or her part to enhance our collective efforts at containing the spread of the virus, which will enable us to hasten the lifting of these restrictions, and returning the nation to normalcy".

The President also commended major political parties in the country for teaming up with the government in the fight against the virus infection.

“I was encouraged by the appreciation of government’s handling of the pandemic, and the offer of support by the leadership of the major political parties in the country, whom I met on Friday. I applaud Parliament’s decision to call off its planned recess, and be on standby to aid in the fight against the virus," he said.

He also lauded the "staff of the University of Ghana’s Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology’s Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research, and the National Public Health Reference Laboratory of the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital for the solid work they are doing for Mother Ghana’’.