Ghanaian government response to the COVID-19 pandemic

From 3 April, over 464 markets were disinfected across the country.[7][8] The second phase of nationwide fumigation begun in July.[9] On 23 September, the MoE with GES collaborated with Zoomlion to disinfect and fumigate all SHS across Ghana to pave way for the reopening of schools.[10] Over 3700 schools in the Greater Accra alone, were fumigated.[11]

• Empty streets of the Greater Accra Region following the lockdown
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On 15 March 2020, at a press conference on the state of COVID-19, officials banned all public gatherings, including conferences, workshops, funerals, festivals, political rallies, and church activities in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Basic schools, senior high schools, and both public and private universities were also closed. BECE and WASSCE candidates were permitted to remain in school whiles adhering to social distancing protocols.[12]

On 30 March 2020, the partial lock down of Accra and Kumasi took effect.[13] Only Members of the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary; and some services such as those that were involved in the production, distribution and marketing of food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, medicine, paper and plastic packages, media and telecommunications were exempted from the restrictions.[14][15] In April 2020, At a press briefing, the Director General of the Ghana Health Service, announced the commencement of local production of nose masks as part of efforts to arrest the spread of the pandemic.[16] People who refused to wear face masks in public could face jail terms of 4–10 years, a fine of GHS12,000 (about US$2,065) to GHS60,000 (roughly US$10,320), or both, according to the new Executive Instrument, E.I. 164, signed by the President on June 15, 2020.[17] In accordance with Article 21 of the Ghanaian Constitution, President Akufo-Addo declared various limitations on movement under the recently adopted Imposition of Restrictions Act 1012 of 2020. This was announced on 21 March 2020.[18]

Travel to Ghana from countries with over 200 positive COVID-19 cases was deterred by authorities, with such travelers being denied admission; however, this restriction did not apply to Ghanaian citizens or people with resident permits.[19] All of the country's borders were later closed from midnight of Sunday 22 March 2020. Passport services were also suspended.[20]

According to the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, 2,262 Ghanaians in Lebanon were evacuated during the COVID-19 lock down and an amount of $1,062,600 was spent.[21] On 13 September, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed it has ended the evacuation of Ghanaians who were stranded abroad due to the COVID-19 restrictions. The evacuation exercise, which commenced on 23 May after the closure of borders in an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19, brought home over 9,000 Ghanaians and resident permit holders from countries around the world such as South Africa, The Gambia, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, China, Benin, Burkina Faso, and Togo.[22]

The Coronavirus Alleviation Program Business Support Scheme (CAPBuSS) was launched in Ghana on 19 May 2020 by President Nana Akufo-Addo. It was formed as part of Ghana's government intention of providing support to MSMEs who were affected by COVID-19 pandemic.[23][24][25] It was presented by an agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry in Ghana called NBSSI.[26][27] The president announced GH¢1 billion after it was approved by the parliament of Ghana.[28][29][30]

According to the Executive Director of NBSSI, more than 21,800 jobs were created under this scheme. These jobs were mainly owned by youths in Ghana.[31] Also, about 110,000 MSMEs in Ghana were said to be owned by women who have benefited from the funds set by the government.[32]

On 11 March 2020, President Nana Akufo-Addo asked the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, to make a cedi equivalent of $US100 million[33] available in order to improve Ghana's response plan for the COVID-19 pandemic.[34] The Ghana COVID-19 Private Sector Fund was also initiated by the Government of Ghana to aid in the fight against the pandemic. The president disclosed that the government, through the MoE, planned a relief package for private schools who were affected by COVID-19 induced shutdown of schools.[35] The Finance Minister stated in his report that the Government spent about 54.3 million Ghana cedis to provide cooked and uncooked food to the vulnerable during the 3-week lockdown.[36] The Government stated that it would provide free electricity and water for the rest of 2020[37] and for the first three months of 2021.[38][39] The ECG reported that about 1.7 million electricity consumers would benefit from the government's COVID-19 relief.[40]

The Parliament of Ghana granted a tax waiver of GHS174 million cedis (equivalent to US$30 million) on income taxes of frontline workers. This spanned for three months from July to September 2020.[41][42] By November 2020, the tax waiver was extended till the end of the year.[43] The Minister of Employment and Labor Relations claimed government's intervention in easing of restrictions restored over 2,849 out of the over 11,000 job losses due to the pandemic.[44] Government established a committee to bring about modalities to implement the National Unemployment Insurance Scheme to help those who lost their jobs during the pandemic.[45]

Government supported entrepreneurs with disability in the Northern, North East and Savannah regions with an amount of GH¢200,000 to help them in their businesses due to the impact of COVID-19.[46] Government released packages to partners in the Tourism industry and other businesses to help them against the pandemic.[47] On 27 July, the government claimed the implementation of the new rate of Talk Tax was to begin in September with the reduction of CST from 9% to 5% to reduce the cost of communication services .[48]

On 18 November 2020 the Ghana CARES program was launched by Nana Akufo-Addo.[49][50] The initiative is to serve as a 'blueprint' for the recovery of Ghana's economy post COVID-19.[51][52]

In early March 2020, the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research was the only facility where COVID-19 could be tested for in Ghana. The institution had a very limited supply of test kits. Ghana therefore adopted the Pool testing as a means for COVID-19 testing.[60][61] [62][63] Individual specimens are pooled together during testing. When a pool is found to be positive, each individual specimen from that pool is tested. The NMIMR began with testing a pool of fives, which was later enlarged to 10.[60]

In October 2020, the president stated that across Ghana, the government has expanded COVID-19 testing facilities from the initial 2 to 16, which include those of private sector providers.[64] By April 2021, more than 30 COVID-19 testing laboratories were in operation.[65] Additionally some hospitals across the country have been equipped with the capacity to test for COVID-19.[64] The Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research is one of the centers in the country for testing and confirming COVID-19 samples.[66]

On 30 July 2020, the GHS asserted that it was expanding COVID-19 testing to hospitals across Ghana.[67] The Government distributed 50,000 PCR testing kits and other kits to COVID-19 testing facilities across Ghana.[68] laboratory equipment and supplies were delivered by the government, improving the testing capacity of the nation.[69]