A Public Health Nurse at the Bolgatanga Municipal Health Directorate, Ms Gifty Atampugbire has advised members of the public against the practice of trying on face masks to select the appropriate one that suits them before buying.

"Before some people buy face masks from the market, especially the locally sown ones, they first try it on themselves, and if it doesn't fit them, they keep changing the masks until they get one that fits them.

"The danger with this practice is if anyone has the virus and puts on any of those masks for sale, the infection will spread," she noted.

Ms Atampugbire in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Bolgatanga, stressed that the practice could easily increase the spread of the coronavirus in the Region, and urged members of the public, especially traders to desist from it.

Ms Atampugbire who started a massive campaign against COVID-19 across all 86 communities in the Bolgatanga Municipality during the peak of the pandemic and eventually got infected in the process, dismissed claims that the locally prepared gin popularly known as 'Akpeteshie,' could cure the virus.

The Public Health Nurse shared her experience during her sensitization campaign in the Municipality, which was extended to drinking spots and market centres, especially on market days, and said most members of the public initially did not believe the virus existed.

"Some even said once they take the 'Akpeteshie' they were immune to the virus, while others did not even believe the virus existed. In fact apart from the market centres, we also concentrated our education in the villages to prevent community transmission.

"We took the sensitization to the communities, especially areas where residents had no access to radio and television to enable them get information about coronavirus," the COVID-19 award winning nurse said.

She emphasised the need for everyone to adhere strictly to the Ghana Health Service protocols, stressing on the proper use of face masks, and the practice of social distancing.

Ms Atampugbire called on residents of the Region to make good use of the local foods with ingredients such as 'dawadawa' among others and drink lots of water to enable them boost their immune systems to fight the virus should they get infected.

She said even though the infection rate appeared to be declining in the Region, it was not a yardstick for the residents to relax on the protocols, adding "The numbers can increase at any time so we need to be careful as a people."