COVID-19: Ghana will not change 3-day negative test arriving protocol at airport

Enoch Darfah Frimpong Oct - 18 - 2020 , 21:35 2 minutes read

Ghana will not extend the COVID-19 PCR negative test period of three days to at least five days before boarding the flight as being advocated by some passengers who intend to travel to Ghana, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stressed.

According to President Akufo-Addo, he is aware that some passengers are calling for government to extend the PCR negative test period before boarding the flight from three days to at least five days.

But addressing the nation Sunday night, President Akufo-Addo said: "I believe, in the context of the second wave of infections that is engulfing so many countries of Europe and America, that we [Ghana] have to insist on the three-day period.

"It is better to be safe than sorry," President Akufo-Addo said during a national address which was his 18th on measures being taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Ghana since it was first recorded in Ghana in March 2020.

The president explained that following the provision of testing facilities, which ensure the speed and accuracy of COVID-19 testing, Kotoka International Airport (KIA) was reopened on September 1, 2020.

Six weeks since the reopening, a total of 30,564 passengers have been tested, from which 92 have tested positive.

President Akufo-Addo said all 92 from the KIA testing are asymptomatic cases, whose status, but for the test, would have not been detected, and would have spread the disease amongst the rest of the population.

He said across Ghana, the government has expanded COVID-19 testing facilities from the initial two to 16, which include those of private sector providers. Additionally some hospitals across the country have been equipped with the capacity to test for COVID-19.

Writer's email: enoch.frimpong@graphic.com.gh

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Watch a video of the address below