#FixTheCountry demo will come off despite upsurge in coronavirus cases – Organisers

The leadership of the #FixTheCountry Movement has said it will still proceed with its planned demonstrations against the government despite the latest rise in COVID-19 figures.

The group which had intended to pour out on the street last month over the failure of successive governments to fix the prevailing challenges of Ghana were restrained by the Ghana police service on grounds of a surge in COVID-19 cases.

Given the fact that Ghana’s cases are much higher than before, there are worries that the planned protest slated for August could be a super spreader which could constitute grounds for its halt.

However, spokesperson for the Fix Ghana Movement Anthony Morkeh in an interview with class news said, the group is resolved to go ahead with their demonstration in strict compliance with the COVID-19 protocols.

He added that his group ought to be allowed to exercise their rights just as the largest opposition NDC did a couple of days ago.

He said: “…As at now we haven’t been given any red light to stop our demonstration, the covid is our concern but still the demonstration should come on.

“It is the President or the Police that can tell us not to demonstrate but we have had several demonstrations and funerals in this country and so will fix the country demonstration for just one or two hours burn down the country? I think things must be put in place to make sure we observe covid-19 protocols.”

Meanwhile, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stressed that the wearing of masks in public places is mandatory and anyone who flouts this law will have him/herself to blame.

He bemoaned and described as ‘troubling’ that the high compliance rate of mask-wearing had declined drastically.

Failure to adhere to the Covid-19 protocols according to the President had led to the upsurge in COVID-19 cases in the country.

Addressing the country on Covid-19 for the 26th time on Sunday, July 25, 2021, Nana Akufo-Addo said: “It is extremely troubling to note that the high compliance rate with mask-wearing has fallen alarmingly. The wearing of masks in public places, fellow Ghanaians, continues to be mandatory. There are no exceptions to this rule, and strict conformity with this protocol will be enforced. Anyone found to be flouting this directive will have him or herself to blame. We cannot afford anyone’s recklessness to endanger the lives of the majority of persons in the country.”

As part of measures to stop the spread of the virus, the president announced a ban on all post-funeral receptions and said one-week funeral anniversaries should be “restricted solely to family members, and should not exceed a duration of two hours.”

He also directed that all funerals should not go beyond two hours.

He urged workplaces and their owners to run shifts as part of measures to stem the tide of the COVID-19 upsurge.