Chairperson of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Josephine Nkrumah has revealed that her outfit in 2021 will inculcate Covid-19 related matters into all its strategies and all planning to ensure that the citizenry is well abreast with issues related to the disease.

According to Madam Nkrumah, the fight against the virus is not for a selected few but requires collective participation by adhering to the safety protocols in order to stem the spread of the disease.

She stressed that although the country has made significant strides in its combat against the virus, the citizenry must not lose guard about the threat it poses.

“There was real optimism when the cases went all the way down but the cases are rising again. And it is not pleasant at all so everybody must step up to the task,” she told Emefa Apawu on JoyNews’ The Probe Sunday.

“We need to sustain education and continue to raise awareness for people to understand that yes, we have come this far, but we could do even better and we begin to see that our cases are brought down to the barest minimum.

“So it is important for us to step up education and begin to sound the warning bells and that is precisely one of the things that NCCE is doing and so in 2021, it will be partly like mainstreaming Covid-19 related matters into all our strategies and all our planning so that people understand that until we have completely eradicated the disease, it is important for us to comply with the safety protocols,” Madam Nkrumah noted.

In September, Ghana witnessed a significant reduction in its recorded cases, however, that did not last as, since November, cases recorded in the country continue to rise.

Currently, out of the country’s 54,401 recorded cases, 888 are still active cases whilst 53,180 others have recovered and 333 have died.

But Madam Nkrumah attributed the relative surge of Ghana’s Covid-19 cases to complacency and fatigue.

In her view, the citizens have relaxed following the decreased in cases. She is however hopeful that the new strategy that will be employed by NCCE in 2021 will revive the urge for people to protect themselves.

“Education has gone down but complacency has set in. Complacency in one respect and the other is fatigue. People are tired. ‘Should I enter every shop and wash my hands, should I sanitise, should I be wearing the mask all the time? I don’t feel comfortable in them anymore. The veronica buckets have all vanished.

"So I think leaders in every sector must be involved. We must be seen adhering to the protocols. That will drive down the message for people to take it seriously."