Sunyani residents unhappy with lifting of movement restrictions
Some residents in Sunyani, the capital of the Bono Region have expressed their disapproval of the President’s decision to lift the partial lockdown imposed on Greater Accra and Greater Kumasi as a measure to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
To them the lifting of the ban on the movement of people within the two areas was a recipe for the spreading of the disease to other regions of the country which were yet to record cases of COVID-19.
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The Bono Region is one of the six regions out of the 16 in the country which have not recorded a COVID-19 case and some residents say they were now living in fear because “buses from Accra and Kumasi have already started arriving without any measure in place to check the status of those coming into the region.”
Our destinies
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, an electronics technician, Mr Eric Offei, said “now the President has pushed our destinies into our own hands and it will be difficult to ensure that the disease is not spread into the region.
“I was thinking that the President was going to extend the duration of the lockdown on Greater Accra and Greater Kumasi and even include parts of the Eastern Region where some cases of the disease have been recorded. I am really disappointed.”
Mr Offei, however, called on the Bono Regional COVID-19 Response Team to institute stringent measures, including testing the temperatures of people who will arrive from Accra and Kumasi to quarantine those who would be suspected of carrying the disease.
A sachet water distributer, Mr Isaac Bonsu, also expressed disappointment at the latest development saying, “I can’t believe that the ban on restricted movement has been lifted now that the number of infected people keeps on increasing.”
He stated that even though the ban affected the country’s economy, the safety of the people was more important than the state of the economy.
Monitor situation
Mr Bonsu, however encouraged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his team to continue to monitor the situation for one week adding that “you should be bold to impose a lockdown on any part of the country should it become necessary to do so.”
Another resident, Ms Adwoa Nyamekye, a shop owner, expressed worry about how the interest of some people in the observation of the handwashing protocol was gradually waning.
“Only few people now use the Veronica bucket which I have placed in front of my shop as compared to those who used it about three weeks ago,” she stated and encouraged Ghanaians to change their behaviour by observing all protocols adopted to help stop COVID-19 from spreading to all parts of the country.
Low patronage
Meanwhile Biiya Mukusah Ali, reports that transport companies operating from Sunyani to Accra and Kumasi recorded low patronage on the first day after the President lifted restrictions on movement in the areas that were under a partial lockdown as they struggled to get passengers.
The Daily Graphic visited some of the transport terminals such as O A Travel and Tours, VIP Transport , Metro Mass Transit, I O Ampofo Transport Company and the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) among others.
As of 11am, few terminals were able to get passengers from Sunyani to Kumasi, while no vehicle from Greater Accra or Kumasi had arrived in Sunyani.
As at the time of our visit, there was not a single vehicle at some of the terminals such as VIP Transport and Metro Mass Transit loading from Sunyani to Accra or Kumasi.
However, management of the various terminals expressed the hope that patronage of their services would pick up from the next day.
The GPRTU Station Master at the Nana Abosoma Market, Mr Joseph Kojo Yeboah, told the Daily Graphic he observed that many people did not listen to the President’s last address and was optimistic that by the next day the transport business would bounce back.