President Akufo-Addo has announced further easing of restrictions on places of worship with effect from August 1.

In his address to the nation, the president expressed his “deepest appreciation to our religious leaders for their strict adherence to the safety protocols, which have prevented any known outbreaks, since they restarted their services”.

He added that from August 1, the time restriction on the meetings has been extended from 1 hour per service to 2 hours. This decision was arrived at in consultation with church leaders.

However, all church leaders “desirous of implementing this enhanced easing directive, must ensure that congregants wear face masks at all times, and the one (1) metre social distancing rule is scrupulously applied”. These same guidelines, he said, also applies to “worship in our Mosques”.

He cautioned that all worship centres should rely more on “fresh air ventilation of their premises, rather than relying on the use of air conditioners.”

He made the announcement in his first address to the nation on the Covid-19 crisis since he came out of isolation. His need to self-isolate was on doctor's advice after a member of his inner circle tested positive for the virus.

It was his 14th address to update the nation on the nation's battle against Covid-19.

In an earlier address, he had instructed churches, mosques and other places of worship to take in only 100 worshippers at a time for a period of one hour per service.

But on Sunday evening, president Akufo-Addo indicated that the nation needs to find ways to live with the virus and contain it, while aiming to restore the nation to a new normal.

Thus the further easing of restrictions on places of worship is part of government's plans to deepen the sense of normalcy.

"I have sorely missed going to Church, as I am sure many others have," the President declared.

In his address to the nation, the president expressed his “deepest appreciation to our religious leaders for their strict adherence to the safety protocols, which have prevented any known outbreaks, since they restarted their services”.

He added that from August 1, the time restriction on the meetings has been extended from 1 hour per service to 2 hours. This decision was arrived at in consultation with church leaders.

However, all church leaders “desirous of implementing this enhanced easing directive, must ensure that congregants wear face masks at all times, and the one (1) metre social distancing rule is scrupulously applied”. These same guidelines, he said, also applies to “worship in our Mosques”.

He cautioned that all worship centres depend more on “fresh air ventilation of their premises.”

"These same guidelines apply to worship in our Mosques. With greater numbers of congregants likely to return for worship, I would, respectfully, ask the religious leaders to pay even greater attention to the fresh air ventilation of their premises, rather than relying on the use of air conditioners," the President said.