Special monitoring by beachfmonline across some financial institutions and business centers in the Sekondi Takoradi Metropolis has shown that the practice of social distancing is leading to some customers spending long hours in queues before they gets served.
Customer were seen standing in longs queues with inadequate number of chairs and at a point exposed to the scorching sun.
Beachfmonline monitored the situation across the central business district and interacted with some customers of consolidated bank and MTN Telecommunication Company.
Kofi Agyeman is a doctor at Effiankwata Regional Hospital and has been in the queue for an hour, he shares his ordeal with beachfmonline.
“I have spent about an hour in the queue and I don’t think it is appropriate, somebody who is here to withdraw money and the bank is talking about social distancing but they are not even practicing it well. Actually at the hospital we are 6 meters apart but at this point we are packed. I think they need contingency plan to mitigate the spread of the disease. They can provide loads of canopies to accommodate their customers outside the bank but maintain standard spacing”.
Monica Kofi is a subscriber of consolidated bank; she shared her experience with us.
“I came here at 12pm, it’s now 1:31pm, the cue is very long, I didn’t expect a long queue but this is the situation so I would have to wait. I will urge the bank to increase the number of chairs and canopies outside the bank to ensure proper social distancing instead of what is currently happening”.
At the premises of MTN, customers who had stood in the queue for long hours where been sacked by the STMA tasked force for not practicing social distancing. A customer in a cue at the MTN premises around Effiakuma Taxi station shared his frustration with Beachfmonline.
“My name is Prince, I have been here for a very long time but I have not been attended to, though we are in long queues but social distance is appalling here. Now STMA is sacking us and I don’t know what to do now”
The practice of social distancing is one of the precautionary measures and directives championed by the Ghana Health Service to prevent the spread of Covid-19
Kwame Offei
Kwame Offei
