Eight traders were arrested Monday morning at the Ashaiman Mandela market for going against the directive to stay away from the market for fumigation exercise to take place.

Whilst other traders had neatly covered their wares and stayed home to allow the exercise to be conducted, the eight set up theirs ready to do business.

According to a report by Citi News, two traders who had arrived from Burkina Faso to sell tomatoes were part of the eight.

They were arrested by a jointed task force from the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly and the Ashaiman Divisional Police.

The Ashaiman market is part of 137 markets government is disinfecting today, March 23, 2020.

About 1,300 sprayers have been deployed to disinfect markets in 28 districts of the Greater Accra Region with Chlorine Dioxide and Sodium Hypochloride.

According to government authorities, the decision to disinfect the markets was arrived at after consultations with the various market leaders in the wake of the increasing cases of Coronavirus recorded in Ghana.

But deputy minister for Local Government and Rural Development, O.B. Amoah has warned that the exercise will not kill and prevent the deadly coronavirus.

He said that the move is a routine by local authorities to sanitize and clean-up market facilities.



“What we’re doing is not to prevent coronavirus. Anybody that tells you that the disinfection we’re undertaking today has the efficacy of killing coronavirus is a lie. If along the line, government secures coronavirus disinfectants we’ll make it known to the public,” he told host of Anopa Kasapa on Kasapa 102.5, Kweku Owusu Adjei.

The exercise is however expected to be reciprocated in other regions within the week.

Ghana has so far recorded 24 coronavirus cases with one death.