By Worthy Bro Dr Henry Awuviri, Supreme Physician
Following the President’s lifting of general COVID-19 restrictions in Ghana with effect from Monday, 28th March, we as Marshallans need to review our COVID-19 policies.
The president in his address said, and I quote “the wearing of facemasks is no longer mandatory. I encourage all of you, though, to continue to maintain enhanced hand hygiene practices, and avoid overcrowded gatherings.
“All in-person activities, such as those that take place in churches, mosques, conferences, workshops, private parties and events, cinemas and theatres may resume at full capacity, as long as the audience and/or participants are fully vaccinated. Hand washing and hand sanitising points should be made available at these venues.
“Outdoor functions at sporting events, entertainment spots, political rallies and funerals may resume at full capacity, again, as long as all persons at these events are fully vaccinated.”
It is evident from his address that the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions is based on the premise of a hundred percent vaccination of all persons present at any given gathering.
A look at the World Health Organisation statistics on vaccination reveals the following;
| Country | Persons fully vaccinated per 100 people in the population | |
| United States of America | 64.08 | |
| The United Kingdom | 72.45 | |
| France | 80.13 | |
| Germany | 75.81 | |
| South Africa | 31.37 | |
| Lebanon | 34.11 | |
| Tunisia | 53.69 | |
| Nigeria | 4.64 | |
| Ghana | 16.25 | |
| Côte d’Ivoire | 17.44 | |
| Togo | 18.81 | |
| Burkina Faso | 5.69 | |
| Sierra Leone | 13.97 | |
| Liberia | 20.08 |
Source : https://covid19.who.int/table
From the table above, it is evident that Ghana still has a long way to go towards even achieving 80 percent vaccination since the populace is not availing itself of the opportunity to get vaccinated at the various vaccination centers spread throughout the country.
World Health Organisation reports indicated 11, 346, 063 newly reported cases of COVID-19 worldwide in the previous seven days alone as at the end of March 2022.
As the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson said in February 2022 when announcing the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions in Britain, “the time to compel people is over. Now people will be asked to exercise personal responsibility” for themselves and others.
We as Marshallans, must therefore, act responsibly to protect ourselves and our families from the disease.
Covid-19 may have of itself become milder but what will be the effect if one were to develop a serious illness and contract Covid-19 as well?
It is of interest to note that the death rate among Marshallans is quite alarming. Since January this year, 42 claims have been received so far by the Marshallan Welfare scheme in respect of 24 Brothers and 18 Sisters who have died. Greater Accra Region alone has lost 11 Brothers and Sisters from various illnesses in less than 3 months. It is imperative that we take every possible precaution to safeguard the lives of our members.
Recommendations
Since it is practically impossible to always ensure that attendees at every programme are 100% fully vaccinated, in order to safely and responsibly resume our programmes at full capacity, we must;
1. Maintain the wearing of facemasks at all Marshallan programmes
2. Maintain hand washing and sanitising practices.
3. Group pictures may be taken outdoors without face masks.
4. We should still maintain the use of face masks for group pictures taken indoors.
5. All Grand Knights and Noble Ladies should encourage their members to get fully vaccinated in order to protect ourselves and our families.
If a person for one reason or other will not be able to wear a face mask, the person will have to produce a valid Covid-19 vaccination certificate.
We however urge members to remember that vaccination makes the disease milder and thereby increases your chances of survival when infected.
However we are reminded that vaccination alone does not prevent you from contracting Covid-19, as evidenced by Queen Elizabeth who tested positive for Covid-19 on 20th February 2022, at the age of 95, despite being fully vaccinated and having had a booster shot. The vaccinations she had most probably saved her life.
The President’s address puts the responsibility in our own hands. Just as the fact that there is no law mandating us to wear seatbelts in public transport, it doesn’t necessarily make it safe for us not to do so.
In the absence of social distancing, we must protect ourselves and others by wearing face masks especially indoors.
We must also practice enhanced hand hygiene through frequent hand washing and the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers.
Let us continue to take all the necessary precautions and measures to protect ourselves and our families even as we pray for God’s continued Grace and Protection.
May God Bless and Keep us all.