About 18.8 million face masks were produced locally in Ghana as part of the government’s Coronavirus response and adherence to safety protocols, Deputy Trade Minister, Robert Ahomka Lindsay has said.

According to him, this became necessary for the personal protection of frontline health workers, student groups, and the general public as part of efforts to curtail the spread of the coronavirus.

Addressing journalists during the government's weekly nation-building updates on October 20, 2020, Deputy Trade Minister, Robert Ahomka Lindsay revealed some 90,000 hospital gowns were also produced domestically.

“Additionally, 90,000 headcovers and 60,000 medical scrubs were all produced locally and government engaged some five tier-one companies boasting of a production capacity of 150,000 face masks per-day while some three-tier two companies had a production capacity of over 1 million face masks per day,” he said.

“Because we produced these facemasks locally in Ghana, we saved over US$16.8 million in foreign exchange gains and created over 10,000 direct domestic jobs along with new investments made by local financial institutions,” he added.

He continued that some 3.76 million yards of the garment were used in the production of these personal protective equipments to curtail the spread of the virus.

The Nation Building Updates is a weekly event designed by the Ministry of Information to provide stakeholders with detailed updates on key interventions executed by government.

Today’s program is on the theme “protecting lives and livelihoods in the midst of crises” and will witness key members of the government’s COVID-19 Response Team who will use the platform to outline the progress made in fighting the pandemic after Ghana recorded its first cases in March 2020.

He added that some 3.76 million yards of garment were used in the production of these personal protective equipment to curtail the spread of the virus.