Ghana Airports Company Ltd (GACL) has updated the COVID-19 protocols for travellers arriving from China at Kotoka International Airport (KIA) in Accra, in response to a surge in COVID cases.
The new guidelines take effect from 6 January 2023.
Under the new guidelines, all individuals arriving in Ghana (citizens, residents and visitors) who are fully vaccinated will be exempt from any form of testing done either before boarding from the originating country or on arrival in Ghana, except for passengers whose journey originates in China.
All other passengers arriving in Ghana from locations other than China, who are unvaccinated or partly vaccinated, will be required to present a negative result from a PCR test taken no more than 48 hours before departure.
“In addition, such passengers will be required to undergo mandatory COVID-19 testing on arrival at Kotoka International Airport at no cost,” the statement said.
According to the statement, all passengers may, however, be selected randomly and offered a test on arrival.
Penalties and surcharges
Non-Ghanaians found to have used “fake” or “forged” vaccination certificates shall be quarantined and returned to the point of embarkation at the passenger’s own cost, the statement added.
“Airlines that bring passengers to Kotoka International Airport who are not fully vaccinated or passengers originating their journey from China without a valid negative COVID-19 PCR test result 48 hours prior to departure would be surcharged $3,500,” it added.
China reported three new COVID deaths for Monday (2 January 2023), taking its official death toll since the pandemic began to 5,253.
On Tuesday, the People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s official newspaper, cited Chinese experts as saying that the illness caused by the virus was relatively mild in most cases.
“Severe and critical illnesses account for 3% to 4% of infected patients currently admitted to designated hospitals in Beijing,” Tong Zhaohui, the vice-president of the Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, told the paper.
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