President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has disclosed that the country expects to take the delivery of 300,000 COVID-19 vaccines next week as part of a campaign to vaccinate 20 million persons before the end of the year.

In his Easter Message to Ghanaians today, President Akufo-Addo said 600,000 Ghanaians have already been vaccinated under Ghana's vaccine campaign.

He said: "We began a vaccination campaign with some 600,000 persons vaccinated. We expect that in the course of the coming week, an additional 300,000 vaccines which we have purchased will have arrived in the country for deployment.

"Our target is to vaccinate 20 million persons by the end of the year. In other words, the whole adult population of Ghana".

Quiet Easter

Noting that the country's number of active cases was on the decline, President Akufo-Addo urged Ghanaians to endure a "quiet Easter" in order to maintain the downward trend.

"While the vaccination campaign is going on, the number of active cases which stood at over 7,000 a few weeks ago is on a steady decline, currently at some 1,746.

"Clearly, my fellow Ghanaians, we are by no means out of the woods and so we will have to endure this year another quiet Easter devoid of public gatherings and the merrymaking that characterise the season.

He said there will be no Easter Conventions, Easter Picnics, parties or gatherings at beaches.

"Church services must be held for a maximum of two hours and the requisite social distancing rules must be strictly obeyed.

"Nightclubs, cinemas and pubs continue to be closed. Funerals, concerts, theatrical performances and parties are banned. Private burials with no more than 25 people can take place with the enforcement of the social distancing, hygiene and mask-wearing protocols. Spectators are still banned from going to the stadia to watch football matches".

President Akufo-Addo said the Ghana Police Service would ensure strict conformity to the restrictions and anyone who is found to have flouted the rules will face the laws of the country.

Economy

President Akufo-Addo added that his administration has put in place a series of measures to ensure that the economy rebounds to the rapid rate at which it was growing before the pandemic last year.

Road accidents

The President also appealed to Ghanaians to adhere to the road Road Traffic Laws and Regulations, so that no road accidents would be recorded during the Easter celebrations.

Happy Easter

He also wished all Ghanaians a happy Easter with hope that "the blood spilled on the cross will heal our land and cleanse us of our iniquities. Just as Christ is risen, Ghana will also rise".