Dr. Lydia Dsane-Selby, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), has announced the extension of the period of services of the Authority to the public, ahead of the reopening of Senior High Schools.

She said the Authority had included Saturday, March 6, 2021, and Monday, March 8, 2021, a public holiday, to the days of rendering services and extended the working hours from 07:00 to 19:00 hours for each day.

The initiative, the GNA gathered was to prevent overcrowding at the District Offices of the Authority as some Senior High Students prepared to go to school on Wednesday, March 10, 2021, amid fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Dsane-Selby in an interview with the Ghana News Agency said parents were striving hard to either register their wards newly onto the Scheme or renew their cards and underscored the need to put in measures to stop the spread of COVID-19.

She, however, said parents and students did not need to go to the NHIA office if they only wanted to renew their cards, because they could renew the card by dialing *929# at a fee of GH¢6.00.

“Parents, forget about the expiry dates on your cards when you renew via mobile technology because as soon as you renew, the card is still valid,” she said.

The CEO said it was, therefore, necessary for only parents and students who were yet to secure a new card to go to the NHIA offices.

She advised the public to use the mobile technology system to renew their cards to prevent social gatherings at the offices of the Authority.