The President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, last Sunday lifted a three-week lockdown which was part of measures to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The President claimed his decision was based on scientific data and was in the right direction.

However, an epidemiology expert at Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), has argued otherwise.

Speaking in an interview on Happy98.9FM’s Happy Morning Show with host Samuel Eshun, Kofi Bonney Ph.D. Senior Research Fellow at Noguchi said, “Speaking from a scientific point of view, I believe the lockdown shouldn’t have been lifted”.

According to him, the President’s action was not based on any scientific data but was an attempt by the government to save face. He noted that with the pressure being mounted on the government to provide citizens with relief items and other demands which was overburdening the country, the lockdown had to be lifted.

On his authority, with the current untested number of samples gathered from the contact tracing exercise and the increasing number of COVID-19 positives, it was unwise for the lockdown to be lifted.

He advised Ghanaians to put their safety into their own hands and not rely solely on the governemt in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has cautioned nations to lift lockdown restrictions slowly and not “all at once” in order to avoid the rapid spread and resurgence of the coronavirus. WHO boss, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has been clear that stringent rules can be relaxed if appropriate measures are put in place.