The possibility of the imposition of restrictions on some parts of the country by President Akufo-Addo, particularly in hotspot areas or areas with widespread cases of Covid-19 looms, as recorded active cases of the virus have surged in the last two (2) weeks.
In the president’s 21st televised address to the nation 2 weeks ago, the number of active cases hovered around 900 but has now increased to 1,924 with 200 cases being recorded on a daily basis.
The number of severe cases, which stood at 18 a week ago, has increased sharply to 120. Critical cases has also jumped to 33 from 0 in the last 2 weeks. Confirmed deaths according to statistics from the Ghana Health Service, has sadly increased from 338 persons to 352 within the period.
The new variant of the Covid-19 pandemic terrorizing the western world has also found its way into the country through arriving passengers at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).
It is in view of this that the president is cautioning of a second lockdown should the general public continue to disregard and not adhere to the safety protocols.
With a second lockdown, businesses in the country stand to suffer the most, particularly micro, small and medium-sized enterprises as evidenced in the first three-week lockdown in parts of Accra and Kumasi.
A second lockdown which is expected to be more severe given the new Covid-19 strain which is more transmissible and has no proven vaccine will result in the closure of more MSMEs as well as affect the profitability of big enterprises leading to more layoffs of employees.
A second lockdown will also reverse the economic recovery gains made so far.
A further provision of stimulus packages by government to thousands of affected businesses after a second lockdown will also result in a further widening of the country’s fiscal deficit and debt as government will have to borrow to finance the second badge of stimulus packages to return the economy to the path of recovery and growth.
