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He explained that conducting classes in open spaces minimizes the rate at which the virus spreads among spread.
Dr. Afriyie, who is the MP for Sefwi Wiawso, believes the government must take his proposal into consideration.
READ ALSO: Only 42% of Ghanaians wear face masks correctly – GHS
“I’m suggesting that as far as possible, schools should be organized under trees now,” he said in Parliament, as quoted by Citinewsroom.
“Because the body of empirical evidence suggests that when you stay in non-enclosed spaces, you don’t get infected and that knowledge must be put to good use.”
Ghana’s Coronavirus situation seemed to be improving towards the end of 2020 but there’s been a spike in cases in recent weeks.
Currently, the country has recorded 5,515 active cases while 424 persons have died in the process, according to data from the Ghana Health Service.
Earlier this week, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) disclosed that schools across the country have so far recorded 20 COVID-19 cases.
According to the Director-General of GHS, Dr. Patrick Kuma Aboagye, the cases are evenly spread across the regions.
“We still have limited outbreak of COVID-19 cases in schools across the country,” he told journalists in Accra.
“We’ve had some cases in Upper West, Western, and Greater Accra. Greater Accra has cumulatively reported about 20 cases in a couple of schools and the contact tracing and isolation are currently ongoing.”
Meanwhile, a survey by the GHS has also revealed that only 42% of Ghanaians wear face masks properly.
The survey was conducted in lorry parks and other public places in the Greater Accra Region on January 29, 2021.
Giving further details, Dr. Kuma-Aboagye, said 36% of the respondents had face masks but were not wearing them properly.
He noted that the remaining 22% of the respondents were found not in face masks at all.
“We did one on 29th January 2021. We did assess the mandatory wearing of masks in the Greater Accra Region which is the epicentre of Ghana.
“The good news is that, about 42% of people are now wearing masks appropriately, 22% were not wearing masks at all and 36% were not wearing it correctly.
“So if I add, we are looking at almost 80% having the intention to wear and that is a good sign. So we are seeing an upsurge in the use of face masks, and we hope that it will continue,” Dr. Kuma-Aboagye added.