The National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Upper East Region has called on the government to adopt measures to quarantine travellers at borders in the region in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr Sunday Casper Kampoli, the Regional Deputy Communications Officer of the Party who made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the side-line of a press conference said the measure would help prevent any possible spread of the disease in the Region.

The press conference which was held at the Party’s Office at Zuarungu in the Bolgatanga East District called on the President Akufo-Addo to do something about the closed but open, porous borders of the Upper East Region in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr Kampoli said the Region was bordered with Burkina Faso and Togo which had recorded high numbers of COVID-19 cases and observed that Ghana related well with those countries in its daily activities which allowed citizens from the two countries to freely move into the country through approved and unapproved routes in spite of the official closure of borders.

He suggested that a strong patrol team of the military, immigration and police be deployed to monitor both approved and unapproved routes, and ensure that people who used those routes.

This, he said would prevent people from the neighbouring countries from integrating with residents in the Region and possibly spreading the virus, emphasizing that checking that everyone coming from those countries are tested will halt the spread”.

According to Mr Kampoli, if that was not done, “Silently, we are integrating with people who may have had contacts with infected persons in Burkina Faso and Togo and may not know. Some citizens in Burkina Faso easily move into Paga and Navrongo, because of the short distance.”

The NDC at the press conference addressed by the Mr Saeed Ahmed Tijani, the Regional Communications Officer, also called on the government to “provide all necessary Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at all four approved borders in the Region to enhance effective screening and the safety of our health workers.”

Mr Tijani called for the laboratory at the Regional hospital in Bolgatanga to be adequately equipped to test potential COVID -19 cases promptly instead of the current practice of transporting blood samples to Kumasi or Accra.

“This is not good enough because time is of essence, and such a process may compromise the accuracy and integrity of the results”, he added.