<<Print>>

Mrs Cynthia Morrison, Minister of Gender and Social Protection, Tuesday said the Government's food and other relief items in the wake of COVID-19 are not for only female head porters (kayayei) as being circulated in some quarters, but for all vulnerable persons.

The focus, she explained, was also on itinerary cobblers 'shoeshine boys', the needy in the ghettos, street corners, hospitals, mental homes and people living with disabilities.

At a media briefing, in Accra to update citizens on the COVID-19 situation, the Minister said the Government had targeted five percent of the eight million affected persons in the country, totalling 400,000 in the restriction of movement areas.

She said a total of 250,000 beneficiaries were in the Greater Accra Metropolitan area, with the rest in the Greater Kumasi area.

Mrs Morrison said the Ministry, with support from National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives, was reaching the vulnerable in the electoral areas, districts, and constituencies with food and other essentials.

The Government had gotten accommodation for 'kayayei' at Madina, an Accra suburb, to prevent them from staying and sleeping in the streets.

The Minister said some faith-based organisations, especially churches, were also being given money to prepare food for the vulnerable.

Also, some food sellers had also been engaged to provide for people in their localities, she said, explaining that this would be more effective because they were familiar with the beneficiaries in their localities.

She, therefore, urged the vulnerable persons, who had not been reached yet to call 0800800800 for assistance.

Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, Minister of Health, emphasised the need for the citizenry to respect the Health protocols, especially social distancing with humans, farm and wild animals.

He said Government was on course and boosting local capacity in the production of Personal Protective Equipment, especially nose masks.
The Minister said Ghana's COVID-19 positive cases, as on Monday, April 06, were 287. They were recorded from six regions - Greater Accra, Ashanti, Northern, Upper West, Upper East, and Eastern.