A scene during the disinfection
The Ministry of Aviation, in partnership with Zoomlion Ghana Limited (ZGL), has disinfected open spaces of the entire Kotoka International Airport (KIA) ahead of the reopening of the place for international flights from today.
The country’s main airport has been opened to emergency services only since March when the Covid-19 pandemic started gaining ground, and the exercise was done in preparation for the resumption of full operations which form part of the effort to contain Covid-19.
The Minister of Aviation, Joseph Kofi Adda, said the government had put in place adequate safety measures at KIA to protect passengers and staff from the virus.
These measures, he mentioned, included the installation of Covid-19 testing facilities to stem the spread.
He commended ZGL for its quick response to disinfect KIA and its environs at short notice.
The General Manager in charge of Vector Control of ZGL, Rev. Ebenezer Kwame Addae, explained the exercise was the second time the airport had been disinfected, and it was meant to destroy the disease “at the airport environment.”
He said “while the first disinfection exercise was targeted at curbing the spread of the virus, the second one was aimed at destroying every virus hiding around the airport environment.”
According to him, there would be regular disinfection exercises which would be carried out in three phases at KIA, indicating that this would be done by designated staff members of KIA at scheduled periods in the morning, afternoon and evening.
“The morning disinfection will cover the terminals, arrival halls, while the evening exercise will take care of all other departments at the airport, including the airport clinic,” Rev. Addae said.
He assured members of the public of their safety, adding “with the strict observance of the Covid-19 safety protocols, the airport will be safer for all.”
Earlier, a Deputy Minister of Health, Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye, addressing a news conference at KIA, reaffirmed that the country had put adequate measures in place to be able to detect possible Covid-19 cases at the airport.
The disinfection team at the airport
By Melvin Tarlue