“We have decided, in consultation with the management, to suspend the meeting of the house for three weeks,” the house’s president, Alban Bagbin, said on Tuesday.
17 members of parliament and 151 employees and auxiliary workers were infected with the virus. Parliament will be postponed from Wednesday until March 2, while the premises are disinfected and sanitized.
“During this time, honorable members must abide by strict Covid-19 protocols and regulations,” Bagbin said. He asked members and staff to be tested for the virus in two weeks.
According to previous Covid-19 restrictions announced on February 5, only a third of members could stay in the room at the same time. Parliament arranged for its members to be tested earlier this month, but some members refused, Bagbin said during a Feb. 3 session.
The West African nation has more than 73,000 Covid-19 cases and 482 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Akufo-Addo announced new restrictions on January 31, which included a ban on funerals, weddings, concerts, theater performances and parties.
“In fact, colleagues in Ghana, we have a lot of work to do to deal with the disease,” he said in a speech. “Given that recent studies show that the UK and other new variants are being passed on to the population, we should all understand that our current situation could become very serious if no efforts are made, both by the Government and by you, your nationality, to help contain the virus. ”
Ghana aims to vaccinate its entire population, initially targeting 20 million people, with the oldest vaccine available in March.