info@businessghana.com
Billboards urging Ghanaians to wear masks in the ongoing battle against the Coronavirus will be pulled down because they used an image of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo not wearing a face mask.
The Minister of Information Kojo Oppong Nkrumah says although government appreciates the effort, advertisers must engage with government on imaging and messaging on future advertisements.
Billboards
The billboards which have sprung up across the capital city (Accra) over the past one-week have an image of President Akufo where he is not wearing a mask. However, the advertisements are captioned: "Wear a mask wherever you go. It will help protect you from the virus".
Some critics have questioned the visual communication of the advertisement but the Minister of Information says the billboard is not from the government.
We appreciate all who seek to help Govt communicate at this time. But pls do well to engage with Govt on imaging and messaging. This billboard of the President without a mask is not from Govt. Note that at his last public appearance the President wore his masks till his speech. pic.twitter.com/2WEcncrZOu
— Kojo Oppong Nkrumah (@konkrumah) May 3, 2020
"We appreciate all who seek to help Govt communicate at this time. But pls do well to engage with Govt on imaging and messaging. This billboard of the President without a mask is not from Govt. Note that at his last public appearance the President wore his masks till his speech," the Information Minister tweeted.
"We have asked city authorities to pull this down. We encourage the well intentioned advertisers to engage with us directly to avoid such mishaps in the future".
Face masks mandatory in public places
Ghana's Ministry of Health (MoH) has directed the use of face masks in all public places where it may be difficult to maintain social distancing.
The Ministry in a statement said the directive was pursuant to section 169 of the Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851). Section 170 (1) of the Act provides that the Minister of Health may order an individual to take a preventive measure in respect of public health matters.
That directive came after President Akufo-Addo had encouraged all Ghanaians to wear face masks.
"Like the World Health Organisation (WHO) has recently advised, I want to encourage you to wear a mask wherever you go, as it will help you not to contract the virus, and keep it clean," the President said in a televised address on Sunday, April 19, 2020.
"If you own a business, or are providing a service, i.e. a barber, a hairdresser, a tailor, a taxi driver, a trotro driver and his ‘mate’, a shop keeper, a food seller, please do well to use a mask. The Ministry of Health will very soon issue guidelines on face masks for public use".
Confirmed cases of coronavirus in Ghana
As of Saturday, May 2, 2020, Ghana has a total of 2,169 cases with 18 deaths 229 recoveries.
Regional breakdown
The Greater Accra region still leads as the region with the highest number of confirmed cases followed by the Ashanti Region and the Eastern Region.
