Key among these interventions is the decision to combine the 65th and 66ths payment cycles as well as the provision of an additional monetary top-up of GHC10.00 per household for use by beneficiaries to purchase provisions such as soap, hand sanitizers among others.

In an interview with Mr Myles Ongoh, the Assistant Director of the LEAP Management Secretariat, he said the decision to combine the 65th and 66th payment cycles was to ensure that beneficiaries have enough funds to see them through the lockdown period to enable them to fend for themselves and their families.

"The corona pandemic and subsequent lockdown of some parts of the country has severely impacted all segments of the country, even more, so the poor and vulnerable sections of the public many of whom are beneficiaries of the LEAP programme.

The partial lockdown has already led to losses in income for daily wage and informal workers, compounding their already dire situation. These are not ordinary times and we have to take certain measures to make sure our beneficiaries are protected and insulated from the shocks the country is currently experiencing," he said.

Mr Ongoh added that as part of the protective measures instituted as a result of the Corona pandemic, beneficiaries would no longer queue at designated pay points to cash out their grants but will rather be assisted by District Social Welfare Officers to withdraw their grants directly from the banks.

"As part of the cash grants, the Secretariat is providing beneficiaries households with additional top-ups for use as transport fare to the nearest bank in their area.

Beneficiaries living in rural areas receive a top-up of GHC20.00 while those in urban areas receive a top-up of GHC7.00. We want beneficiaries to comply strictly with the President's social distancing directives and as such we are no longer using pay points where they have to queue for their grants like before," he said.

He said LEAP beneficiaries were being taken through education and sensitization on the preventive measures to protect themselves and what to do in suspected cases.

 "Education is key in these times and LEAP beneficiaries are being educated on what corona is, how it spreads and how they can protect themselves and their families from contracting the virus.

We are constantly working with our stakeholders to devise various strategies aimed at easing the burden on our beneficiaries in these difficult times," he noted.

Mr Ongoh was optimistic that these measures would go a long way to help in curbing the spread of the virus whiles assisting the vulnerable to leap out of poverty.

 He called for strict observance of state and health protocols to flatten the curve and eradication of the COVID-19 virus.