People living in rural communities have been urged to take the outbreak of the coronavirus seriously and adhere strictly to all preventive protocols to stay safe from the virus.

Mr. Francis Oppong, Sekyere Afram Plains District Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) who made the call, said rural dwellers should not think that the disease was far away from them.

They should therefore take all the preventive measures outlined by the Ghana Health Service seriously and abide by them in order to prevent themselves from catching and spreading the virus in their communities.

Mr Oppong made the call at a community sensitization exercise on the COVID-19, at Drobonso in the Sekyere Afram Plains District.

The exercise was part of the phase III of the Accountability, Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Programme (ARAP), geared towards educating and sensitizing the local people on the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ARAP is a STAR-Ghana funded project aimed at supporting the NCCE to educate the people to promote good governance and accountability at the local level to strengthen anti-corruption efforts across the country.

It was also to strengthen the government's efforts in controlling the contraction and spread of the coronavirus disease.

Mr. Bright Dzirakor, Programmes Officer, said the exercise was to get rural community members to become aware of the disease and government's preventive and protective protocols in the fight against the disease.

He urged the people to strictly adhere to all the protocols in order to protect themselves and their families.