Four hundred and six ‘recalcitrant’ people have been arrested by the police across the country for breaching the President’s imposition of the lockdown and ban on social gathering in Ghana.
The Ghana Police Service said Tuesday that some of them have been placed in custody while most of them have been granted bail and while few of them have been investigated and processed for court.
“So far around the country, 406 persons have been arrested; 103 are in custody, 248 have been granted bail and 41 have been processed for court,” Head of Police Prosecutions for Accra Region, ACP Lydia Donkor announced.
She said while the police and the military have mounted checkpoints to enforce the Imposition of Restrictions Act, 2020 (Act 1012), they are also engaged in some form of public education, particularly in the lockdown areas.
At a news briefing to update Ghanaians on Ghana’s COVID-19 situation, she said officers have for the past two weeks had to educate the people about the need to stay home and stop unnecessary roaming among others.
Despite the education for people to stay at home, she observed several people have been leaving their homes for parties, weddings, and beaches in clear breach of the Imposition of Restrictions Act.
“For these recalcitrant people who are failing to comply, the message is that we are going to be dealt with… Such persons have been arrested and after successful investigations, they are being prosecuted,” ACP Donkor said.
She gave the number of people arrested in the Greater Accra as 161. In the Ashanti region, 70 have been arrested while 67 have been arrested in the Volta Region. The Western, Western North and the Upper East regions have eight cases each.
Tema has 31 cases while the Central Region has made 24 arrests and Eastern Region six.
ACP Donkor has meanwhile advised the public to comply with the law by observing the lockdown and social gathering directives to avoid being arrested and prosecuted.
She said police prosecutors have been charged to ensure that they enforce section 6 of the Act.
Meanwhile, she has advised all to ensure that they “do not engage in any resistance with the officers”.
Ghana’s COVID-19 situation
Ghana’s coronavirus case count stands at 566 as of April 24. Two of them are in critical condition while 10 deaths have been cured.
Figures released by the Ghana Health Service Sunday night showed that the number of people without travel history who have contracted the deadly novel coronavirus in Ghana has surpassed the number of imported cases.
A total of 66.6 percent of the people with the virus in the country have no history of travel whatsoever while those with travel history are pegged at 33.4 percent.
“Of the 566 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 292 were reported from the routine surveillance, 159 from enhanced surveillance activities and 115 from travelers under mandatory quarantine in both Accra and Tamale,” the Ghana Health Service explained on Sunday.
A total of 37,954 persons have been tested for the virus since March 12 of which 566 came out positive.
Lockdown
In a bid to stop community infections, the government announced a two-week partial lockdown in Accra, Kumasi, Tema, and Kasoa which has since been extended by two more weeks.
Restrictions imposed on public gatherings have also been extended by two weeks.
“The restrictions imposed on public gatherings, under EI 64, have been extended for a further period of two (2) weeks, with effect from Monday, 13th April 2020,” the statement said.