‘Its now safe’ – Akufo-Addo reopens airport

President Nana Akufo-Addo has announced the reopening of the airport, closed last March to contain the spread of coronavirus.

It is now safe to do so, he said in an expected announcement likely to thrill Ghanaians stranded abroad.

Land and sea borders, however, remain closed indefinitely.

Flights to Ghana are to resume Tuesday, September 1, 2020, he said.

The president explained that simulation exercises have been conducted at the Kotoka International Airport over the past month.

It was to ascertain the preparedness of airport systems to handle human traffic without importing new cases.

The president outlined some measures passengers are to adhere to while travelling to Ghana.

A key measure was for travellers to show a coronavirus test results that show a negative.

The test should have been done not more than 72 hours before the flight.

On reaching Ghana,  each passenger, wearing a mask mandatorily, would be tested again.

The results would be communicated to the passenger after 30minutes.

A negative test is a positive entry into the country, he indicated.

Otherwise, the passenger would be handed over to health authorities.

Passengers are to pay for the cost of testing while children under five years would not be tested, Akufo-Addo said.

The president stressed the importance of ensuring Ghana does not import any case of coronavirus.

Airport protocols

Airlines and passengers are expected to strictly observe the following protocols or risk sanctions:

1. Any passenger arriving in Ghana must be in possession of a negative COVID-19 PCR test result from an accredited laboratory in the country of origin. The test should have been done not more than seventy-two (72) hours before the scheduled departure from the country of origin. All airlines have been instructed to ensure compliance with this directive for all passengers wishing to travel to Ghana, and those airlines who fail in this regard will be duly sanctioned;
2. disembarking passengers must do so wearing face masks;
3. upon disembarking from the aeroplane, each passenger will undergo a mandatory COVID-19 test at the airport terminal, at a fee to be borne by the passenger. The test result will be available within thirty (30) minutes;
4. children under the ages of five (5) will not be required to undergo testing at the airport
5. Passengers, who test positive for COVID-19, will be handled by the health authorities for further clinical assessment and management;
6. passengers, who test negative, can, thereupon, enter Ghana to go about their lawful activities, and will be advised to continue to observe COVID-19 safety precautions during their stay in Ghana.
7. The Ministries of Information, Health and Aviation, and their respective agencies- the Ghana Health Service, the Ghana Airports Co. Ltd., and the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority – will spell out in further detail the protocols surrounding the re-opening of our international airport, and the procedures to be adhered to by passengers arriving in Ghana at the COVID-19 media briefing tomorrow, Monday, 31″ August.

Ghana recorded its first cases imported from Norway, Turkey and France on March 12.

The country has recorded 43,505 confirmed cases. But active cases are now over 1,700 as at August 23, 2020.