Coronavirus: U.S advises against travel to Ghana

The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention has advised its citizens against travelling to Ghana due to the increasing numbers of coronavirus cases.

“Travelers should avoid all travel to Ghana, travel may increase your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19,” it said.

Ironically, the United States is one of the worst-affected countries in the world.

As of January 18, there were 24,492,522 cases and over 407,334 deaths.

For those who must travel at all cost, the centre has listed safety protocols that must be adhered to.

“During travel, wear a mask, stay at least 6 feet from people who are not traveling with you, wash your hands often or use hand sanitizer, and watch your health for signs of illness”

Ghana’s COVID-19 cases have ballooned by over 350 percent within three months.

As of October 8, 2020, official figures from the Ghana health service stood at 298.

Currently, the country has recorded over 2,000 active cases,352 deaths, and 55,592 recoveries.

The country has also recorded cases of the new variants of the virus.

“Recent Genomic sequencing undertaken by our scientists have established that some arriving passengers tested positive for new variants of COVID-19. These passengers have all been isolated,” President Akufo-Addo said in his latest COVID-19 address to the nation.

Ghana opened the Kotoka International Airport to international travelers on September 1, 2020, joining the league of countries that have opened up after more than six months of isolation.

But like most countries across the world, the government is jittery over the possibility of a spread of new strains of the virus said to be more lethal than the first one.

At least 352 individuals have died from the disease across the country.

So far, 13 out of the 16 regions in Ghana have recorded fresh cases of the coronavirus disease, COVID-19.