President Nana Akufo-Addo has announced that airlines will be fined $3,500 for each passenger who arrives at the Kotoka International Airport without being fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
President Akufo-Addo in his 27th addressed to the public said unvaccinated Ghanaians and residents in Ghana, who departed the country before 14th December, and who return by 28th December, will be offered vaccination on arrival at the airport.
The measures are the latest to be taken by the Ghana Health Service, and has been described as one of the strictest coronavirus-related restrictions in West Africa.
President Akufo-Addo, however, said that the country is expecting, in this month of Christmas, a large number of visitors, overseas Ghanaians and foreigners, into the country.
“With the Immigration Service doing a yeoman’s job by intercepting many foreign nationals trying to enter the country through unapproved routes, Government’s concern has been to limit the importation of the virus through the Kotoka International Airport,” he said.
He explained that as things stand, international passengers arriving at Kotoka constitute the highest source of infections in the country, which has resulted in the drastic measures taken recently to prevent the importation of the virus.
“The Ghana Health Service tells us that an overwhelming majority, that is seventy-five percent (75%), of the positive cases recorded at Kotoka have come from passengers who are not vaccinated,” he said.
*Travel Requirements*
Furthermore, President Akufo-Addo said all persons seeking to travel outside the country must be fully vaccinated.
In addition fully vaccinated passengers coming to Ghana must, be in possession of a negative PCR test of not more than 72 hours, and also take a mandatory Covid-19 test upon arrival at the airport excluding children aged five to 12.
Any passenger, testing positive at the airport, will be kept in isolation, at a designated isolation facility, and a non-Ghanaian will receive treatment at his or her own cost, he said.
“These are stringent measures, I know, but the benefits far outweigh the negatives.
The ravages of Covid-19 have been devastating on our economy, and I am determined to return us to our normal way of life as quickly as possible, by helping to defeat the pandemic.”
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri