In the past couple of days, Ghanaian Immigration officers have turned back approximately 20 foreign nationals from multiple European and China over fears that they may be importing the dreaded coronavirus Covid-19 into the country.
This follows the realisation that all the recently reported cases of Covid-19 in Ghana were all “imported” from Europe and the United States.
On Tuesday, March 16, 2020, some two Chinese nationals who arrived on an Emirates Flight were also sent back. Not long afterwards, a viral video hit social media, showing about 15 Chinese nationals being turned back from entering Ghana at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).
Earlier, some two Italian nationals were also barred from entering Ghana after they arrived on an Air France flight.
The latest episode of these travel restrictions has gone viral. In a video, a German man disallowed from exiting the KIA lay on the floor of the arrival hall as immigration officers struggle to bundle him back into a plane headed for Germany.
Ghana announced new travel protocols saying it will “discourage” travel into Ghana at the moment. The directives outlined that both citizens and foreign nationals entering the country from a destination of more than 200 cases shall be subjected to screening and mandatory 14-day quarantine period.
Only Ghanaians and foreign nationals with residence permits are exempt from this policy. However, they would also be monitored and subjected to isolation protocols.
The government said airlines had been instructed not to allow such persons into Ghana.
Several other countries have gone into lockdown disallowing exit and entry since the pandemic spread from Wuhan-China.
Several African countries have placed travel restrictions from China and Europe-two of the worst-hit regions in the world
Currently, about 230,000 people have been infected worldwide with nearly over 9,300 deaths recorded.