Accra Mayor Mohammed Adjei Sowah has debunked claims that the fumigation exercise in Accra’s markets is to kill rodents instead of viruses.

He told JoyNews' Maxwell Agbagba at the Kantamanto market that the exercise will be conducted regularly to protect the country against the threat of COVID-19.

The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has embarked on a fumigation exercise in markets dotted around the Greater Accra Region as part of measures to counter the novel coronavirus.

Some critics on social media say the chemicals used for the activity are only effective to ward off rodents.

But the Accra Mayor wants such assertions to be disregarded.

“The chlorine is for killing bacteria and viruses and bacteria not rodents and cockroaches,” he said.

The commanding officer in charge of the team of soldiers deployed to supervise the spraying exercise, Lt. Col. Seth Gyekye Odei said the soldiers will be ensuring traders comply with the directive not to operate and also protect their wares.

“We have over 300 soldiers spread into smaller groups supporting each of the various groups of those doing the spraying… There are three areas we are covering.

"First of all, protection for those doing the spraying, secondly, we are also ensuring that we conduct patrols to ward off intruders…,” he explained.

He further stated that “we have static guard duties that will be here till tomorrow morning to ensure that no intruders come in to disturb in that direction."

Lt. Col. Odei was, however, impressed by the level of compliance and support exhibited by the traders in the fumigation exercise.

“So far we have not received any resistance from anybody, which is good… I think if all of us go on like this, the exercise will be successful,” he added.