“A man or woman shall dress in a face mask, experience defend or any other confront masking that addresses his or her nose and mouth fully, when that individual is in a community position or leaving or returning to his or her place of abode.”
This is paragraph 1 of E.I. 164 made out there and general public on Thursday so we do not have an justification and to support police to implement the required putting on of deal with masks.
This hottest Govt Instrument by President Akufo Addo has the drive of legislation since it is issued on the back of the Imposition of Constraints Act, 2020 (Act 1012) handed by parliament to empower him to concern these kinds of directives from time to time devoid of additional recourse to the bureaucracy of regulation-making. So, this is the legislation for the following three months and violating it may get you spending in between ¢12,000 – ¢60,000 and/or in addition paying out amongst four – 10 decades in jail.
It could have been better in plainly defining community location possibly not to contain when you are by yourself in your motor vehicle experiencing your air problem. It could also have built exception for people today who may well not be in a position to put on it for real healthcare good reasons. Yes, it tends to make definitely no exceptions or exemptions and that may possibly pose difficulties in its enforcement for being too general.
I have in no way understood why some persons want to be compelled by law to do the simple things that reduce their hazard of contracting nCovid-19. I begun, months ago, inquiring for possibly an E.I or by-legal guidelines to compel sporting of deal with masks because it is a community health and fitness problem and I understood there will be a lot of who will danger their life and endanger other people by their reckless conduct. In truth, some nevertheless do not think the pandemic is authentic.
Ghana has surpassed 13,000 bacterial infections with some 4,500 recoveries and 70 deaths. Today’s political activity throughout the place and the registration the EC will be undertaking are crystal clear breeding grounds for even further an infection and spread. This is the time of substantial threat and anyone will have to do all that is demanded to guard them and other individuals.
By E.I 134 introduced on June 9 to give drive to the eased constraints, every single person in a university and individuals attending religious, social, and political gatherings are needed to put on deal with masks. Its paragraph 4(5)(c) especially demands all patrons of establishments, services or establishments to dress in a confront mask.
The sanctions of a minimal of ¢12,000 and/or 4 decades in jail are clearly harsh and may perhaps imply throwing a lot of in jail at this improper time. The Ho municipal assembly’s before by-law solution of a location fantastic of ¢150 – 500 was acceptable and may possibly be considered in addition to free source of experience masks.
Law enforcement and other covid-19 process forces viewed and described to be subjecting people to exercise routines this kind of as cleaning and weeding are acting lawlessly and should know they do not have the defense of the legislation in such unlawful carry out. The law does not propose even remotely that they can constitute on their own into judges and concern quick punishments, having said that very good their intentions. Workout your proper to insist on full compliance with the law if any above-exuberant or ignorant officer calls for you do something the regulation does not empower them to do.
Samson Lardy ANYENINI
June 20, 2020
