Ghana is fighting hard to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus which has already taken the lives of 66 Ghanaians including politicians.
As it stands now, the total case count is 12,929 with 4,468 recoveries, in the President’s last address to the nation he made mention that wearing of nose marks is now compulsory.
According to him, he has tasked the security agencies in the country to arrest and prosecute anyone who fails to put on the nose mask.
Well, it has now been established that failure to put on a nose mask as directed by the president can land you in jail from 4 to 10 years.
Not only will the victim get a jail term but is also likely to be fined Ghc12,000 to Ghc60,000.
This has been stated in a new Executive Instrument (E.I 164) signed by Akufo Addo, President of Ghana as part of strategies to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Per E.I. 164, which was gazetted on Monday, June 15, which Graphic Online has seen, the mandatory wearing of face masks shall be in force for three months and shall apply to all parts of Ghana.
The E.I. was issued by the President pursuant to the powers granted him under the Imposition of Restrictions Act, 2020 (Act 1012).
The new E.I. makes it mandatory for people to “wear face masks, face shields or any other face covering that covers his or her nose and mouth completely when the person is in public or leaving or returning to his place of abode.”
Section 4 (1) of the E.I. 164 states that the police have the authority to make random checks to “ensure enforcement compliance”
According to Section 4(2) of E.I 164, any person who fails to comply with the mandatory wearing of nose masks shall be punished in accordance with Section 6 of Act 1012.
Per Section 6 of Act 1012, “a person who fails to comply with the restrictions imposed under the Executive Instrument issued under subsection 1 of Section 2 commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than 1,000 penalty unit (Gh¢12,000) and not more than 5,000 penalty units (Gh¢ 60,000) or to a term of imprisonment not less than four years and not more than 10 years or to both.”
