The Nanton District Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has stepped up community sensitization on the COVID-19 pandemic to influence people's behaviour to help contain the disease.

The Directorate, in a week-long sensitisation exercise, took the COVID-19 message to public departments, some private businesses, the Central Mosque at Nanton, Tampion Central Mosque, Zoggu Central Mosque, Zien Central Mosque, Nanton Kurugu Central Mosque and Kpano Central Mosque, and educated the people on the transmission, symptoms and preventive protocols on the disease.

Mr Ibrahim Iddrisu, Nanton District Director of NCCE, who led the sensitisation exercise, highlighted some of the symptoms of the COVID-19, which included dry throat or itching throat, dry cough, sneezing uncontrollably or perpetually, high fever with temperature above 37 degrees Celsius, runny nose and severe headache.

He touched on the mode of transmission of the disease, which included through contact with an infected person, handshake with an infected person, touching of an infected substance amongst others, and advised them to adhere to the safety protocols such as personal hygiene, use hand sanitisers, and avoid crowds amongst others, to help contain the disease in the country.

Mr Iddrisu advised the people to build their immune systems by consuming fruits and vegetables to keep them strong to fight the disease, emphasising that they should in addition take more water, have enough sleep and do a lot of exercise, which were all vital to keep them strong.

He urged the Imams of the various mosques to encourage their congregants to practise the social distancing, wearing of nose masks, keeping up to the 25 per cent and 100 people at a time in all social gatherings including religious activities, and observing all safety protocols announced by the government to help fight the disease.

The Director told the Imams that "Do not disappoint the President by disobeying the current protocols announced by him, because that will tarnish the image of Muslims in the District and Ghanaian Muslims in general".