{"id":2698,"date":"2020-04-07T10:47:58","date_gmt":"2020-04-07T10:47:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sendwestafrica.org\/nu\/?p=2698"},"modified":"2020-04-07T10:47:58","modified_gmt":"2020-04-07T10:47:58","slug":"covid-19-playing-football-in-the-midst-of-a-lockdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sendwestafrica.org\/ghana\/covid-19-playing-football-in-the-midst-of-a-lockdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Covid-19: Playing football in the midst of a lockdown?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Christabel Osei-Boateng |Photo: Courtesy Christabel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By: Christabel Osei-Boateng, P4H focal person of La Nkwantanag Madina Municipality <\/strong><\/p>\n

In line with directives given by the president and the Ghana health service to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, citizens have been advised to wash their hands and use hand sanitizers regularly and most importantly observe social distancing. A partial lockdown is being embarked on in Greater Accra and Kumasi regions.<\/p>\n

Amidst these directives, some inhabitants of Madina new road, a suburb of the La Nkwantanag Madina Municipality seem unconcerned about social distancing. For these inhabitants, life still goes on as it has always been even with the presence of COVID-19, they simply can\u2019t adjust to accommodate these directives. <\/p>\n

It is 11:30 am on 1st April 2020 and the football park behind the Queen of Peace Roman Catholic Church is occupied with about 20 men, some engaged in a football match, others as spectators and another set engaged in a draught or checker game. Although this meets the criteria for social gatherings which is pegged at 25 people, these persons were in close contact with each other.<\/p>\n

These scenes made me wonder whether all citizens truly understand the destructive nature of COVID-19 to human lives and more importantly whether the partial lockdown is in our own interest as citizens.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Christabel Osei-Boateng, P4H focal person of La Nkwantanag Madina Municipality In line with directives given by the president and the Ghana health service to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, citizens have been advised to wash their hands and use hand sanitizers regularly and most importantly observe social distancing. A partial lockdown is being embarked on<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[248],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-covid19-community-response"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t