The Minority in Parliament is asking the Akufo Addo administration to consider placing travel
restrictions on citizens of countries which have high coronavirus infection rates in order to curb
a new influx of infected people traveling into Ghana.
Frontier Healthcare Services Limited, the company tasked to test foreign travelers arriving the
Kotoka International Airport (KIA) for COVID-19 on April 24, 2021 wrote to the Managing
Director of the Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL) complaining bitterly about the influx of
COVID-19 positive travelers through the main international airport.
Frontier described the situation as an “unprecedented rate of cases being reported at Kotoka
International Airport”.
It is in the light of this disturbing revelation that the Minority in Parliament has taken the
government to task.
In a statement signed by the Ranking Member on the Health Committee of Parliament & MP for
Juaboso, Kwabena Minta Akandoh, government was warned that gains made in the fight
against the coronavirus may be lost if stricter measures are not taken to curb the current influx.
“Government should also consider travel restrictions on countries currently experiencing high
COVID-19 infection rates to reduce the possibility of importing COVID-19 infections into the
country. Some countries have already implemented these measures and Ghana should also
consider doing same,’ the statement said.
It follows reports that the country recorded its highest ever influx of coronavirus positive
visitors to the country through the Kotoka International Airport on the 24 th of April, 2021.
On the day, an all-time high of 75 travelers tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 at the airport. This
represents a 67% jump on the previous all-time high of 45 cases recorded on the 21st of April.
“This clearly raises three pertinent issues. The first has to do with the authenticity of the PCR
test results carried by infected travelers coming into the country, second the safety protocols
instituted at the various airports travelers may have used before arriving in the country and
third our own measures to ensure the safety of immigration and other officials working at KIA,”
the Minority charged.
It acknowledged that several protocols have been instituted by government to reduce the
probability of infections and keep Ghanaians safe, key amongst them, the travel guideline
which includes two compulsory COVID-19 tests – a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test at the
country of origin and a $150 antigen test on arrival at the Kotoka International airport – before
travelers are allowed into the country.
However, it said that it appears that people are traveling into the country with fake tests.
“…it is encouraging, although late, that government has issued a directive to have all PCR test
results of arriving travelers digitally verified to reduce the probability of travelers arriving with
fake COVID-19 test certificates. But government should also consider a careful examination of
the data and where necessary impose travel restrictions from regions that have travelers
presenting fake or poor test results,” the statement said.
The NDC Minority added that Government must double its efforts to address the, issues and
that first a determination must be made on how so many travelers are able to pass through the
first screen procedure of a PCR test at their country of origin and land in Ghana having a COVID
infection. “This may indicate either poor tests or fake results,” the statement from the Minority
said.”