The General Secretary for the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Dr Justice Yankson has urged the citizenry not to use religion as a guise to downplay the impact of Covid-19 on the state.

Speaking on Newsfile on Saturday, July 24, 2021, he said countries experiencing adverse impact of the pandemic equally have God on their side and are probably praying to Him.

However, they have been left at the mercy of the pandemic since they failed to follow laid down protocols aimed at controlling the spread of the virus.

"We cannot continue to pray to God because the other countries who are suffering from the pandemic, I don't think when they pray to God , God doesn't listen. God created all of us but there are basic scientific principles we have to follow," he said.

The comment forms part of conversations around the country's stance with regards to the pandemic.

Speaking to host, Samson Lardy Anyenini, Dr Yankson raised concern over the daily increasing cases of Covid-19 and urged the public not to throw caution to the wind when it comes to observing the safety protocols.

He was optimistic they are the surest way to mitigate the impact of the pandemic.

He further stated that current data suggests that the country is witnessing its third wave of the pandemic. He added that facilities responsible for managing affected victims are all getting choked, therefore, the state cannot afford to let its guard down.

“If you look at all the statistics, you’ll see that the wave is here with us. We haven’t reached its peak but it’s here with us.

“People are dying in transit. Not long ago, the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital was not seeing cases. Now, it is struggling to find ICU places for patients. If you go to the Police Hospital, Ridge, and other facilities, the situation is the same there,” he said.

He used the platform to also urge government to show leadership by enforcing the protocols that were outlined by the President, the Ghana Health Service and the World Health Organisation.

“It looks as if we are not learning lessons from what happened to us previously, because looking at the approach, government is refusing to enforce the protocols which are our best bet for now. Leadership is not setting any examples for us.

“As for vaccination, we are on our knees. As of now, 1% of our population will not help us in any way in terms of prevention or mitigating the potential impact of the virus on us.

“We haven’t gotten anywhere near herd immunity, so the protocols are our best bet and at the state level, the enforcement is not happening.

“As for the health professionals, we will do our best, but some of the activities go beyond us. The state [therefore] must show leadership by enforcing the laws," he added.