Coronavirus: ‘Stop sharing masks, it is dangerous’ – NCCE
17th July 2020
Mr Setriakor Gagakuma, Ho Municipal Director, National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has asked the citizenry to stop sharing masks with friends and relatives.
He said the act was unhygienic and also had the potential to spread the novel Coronavirus through borrowed users and urged such people to desist from the behaviour to stem the spread of the disease.
“There may not be a coronavirus in it, but certainly not healthy for a another person to inhale, and apart from it being unhygienic practice, it is an easy way of helping the virus spread from person to person," he lamented.
Mr Gagakuma who was speaking to the Ghana News Agency said his outfit gathered information that people borrowed masks to have access to voter registration centres and only returned it after they had gone through the process of acquiring the new card.
He said the masks were not requirement for registration, but a protective material against the deadly coronavirus and therefore urged the citizenry to desist from the act of sharing and use them correctly to avoid the spread of the virus.
The Director said it had also come to their notice that some drivers also kept spare masks in their vehicles and gave to passengers, when approaching police check points and took it back after crossing that point.
"This same mask would be given to another passenger who doesn't have one the next time he gets to a checkpoint, is a recipe for disaster," he said.
Mr Gagakuma urged drivers and passengers to desist from the act, be watchful and concerned about where they buy the masks and how they were handled as it might be contaminated before getting to them.
He said the Commission is following up on sensitisation activities to educate the citizenry on the dangers of the pandemic, proper maintenance and wearing of masks to limit the spread of the COVID-19.
The Director said the activity would be targeted at schools, markets, registration centres, communities, faith-based organizations, lorry stations and identifiable groups.
He implored the citizenry to endeavour to observe the World Health Organisation and Ghana Health Service health safety protocols to stem the spread of the virus.