Ghanaians have been urged to change their mentality and appreciate the presence of the coronavirus in the country and adhere to the preventive protocols to help contain the further spread of the disease.

Mr. Johnson Opoku, Programmes Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), who gave the advice, said most Ghanaians were failing to appreciate the reality of the disease - a situation that had the tendency to escalate community and institutional spread.

Ghana has over the last three months recorded more than 14, 500 COVID-19 confirmed cases and 95 deaths - ranking the country as one of those with the highest number of confirmed cases in Africa.

“The fact is that the pandemic has come to stay with us and we should learn to live with it as we observe all the safety protocols for our protection,” Mr. Opoku told staff of the Kumasi Metropolitan Office of the National Service Scheme (NSS), at a day’s sensitization workshop.

It was designed to create awareness on the COVID-19.

The programme formed part of the Commission’s outreach project to educate institutions to engender attitudinal change amongst the people towards the pandemic.

The participants were taught the history of pandemics, effects on humanity, and protective measures in place to protect the people.

Mr. Opoku kicked against stigmatizing COVID-19 patients, saying that practice tends to discourage people from opening up for testing and treatment when they show signs and symptoms of the disease.

Ms. Margaret Konama, Kumasi Metropolitan Director of the NCCE, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the sidelines of the programme, said the Commission had so far engaged the majority of religious organizations in the metropolis.

They include the Apostolic Church Ghana, Roman Catholic Church, Seventh-day Adventist Church, amongst others, with plans in place to also meet Islamic organizations soon.