Immunologist and Research Fellow at the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens, University of Ghana, has cautioned the general public against social gatherings.

Dr Yaw Bediako observed that one sure way of transmitting the coronavirus is at such meetings and wants Ghanaians to note that Covid-19 is not a respecter of persons or reasons for being at a gathering.

“I think we seriously need to consider restrictions on the social gathering.”

“We’ve made a lot of noice about [whether] it is church, political campaigning or registration but the virus doesn’t care why you are in a social gathering,” he said on Tuesday.

As the country witnessed a rapid surge in the virus, a section of the public fingered political activities late last year coupled with loose compliance with Covid-19 protocols as causes of the second spike of the virus.

The development has triggered the enforcement of the laid protocols and a call to reintroduce a ban on social gathering going forward.

Information Minister-designate, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah announced the country may be heading for tighter restrictions and a possible lockdown should the Covid-19 cases continue to rise.

Meanwhile, another section is of the view that a lockdown may negatively affect religious gatherings such as the Church and Mosque where people may want to meet to intercede in prayers.

But the Immunologist said: “The bottom line is if you have a lot of people in a congested place, no matter what you are doing, you are spreading the virus.”

“So I think we need to move the discourse away from is it political, is it registration, is it church, is it a party.”

Dr Bediako urged the general public to adhere strictly to the Covid-19 protocols to ensure that the rise in the number of active cases in the country is quickly contained.

“If you are more than three meters from the person next to you, whether you are in a shop or in a banking hall, there is a potential for spread.”