Water for Rural Africa (WRA) has followed closely with grave apprehension the continuous increase of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the country and the approach being adopted by the national response team to combat a pandemic that has brought the world economies to their knees.

There is no denying the fact that the future of this great nation is at risk judging from what the coronavirus has done to a country like Italy which has better resources and a more robust healthcare system. Italy probably undermined the threat posed by this pandemic. The devastating effect on Italy as a result of an initial lukewarm attitude of Leaders in Italy should serve as a lesson for the government of the day. Ghana will not be in position to handle the pandemic if we allow the situation to get out hand.

The worrying trend of horizontal spread otherwise known as community spread is on the ascendency and this is the point where complexities arise and contact tracing loses its potency.

WRA wishes to recommend to the government of the day, to Lockdown major cities in the country in order to save the nation from total collapse. This will certainly not be a popular decision for the leadership and a section of the populace, but we have reached that point where a draconian approach backed by proven results in other countries hit by the pandemic remains the last resort and the earlier, the better. India did not record as much as we currently have, before issuing a directive for a lockdown.

However, WRA recommends a minimum of 48 hour grace period for citizens, to prepare adequately for survival during the period. It is also crucial for government to set aside funds for relief items and programmed delivery channels devoid of politics and discrimination in order to protect the less privileged in the catchment areas.

Let us ensure water reaches rural communities that have no access to clean water.

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