KIA reopening: 200 passengers complete coronavirus tests on day 1

About 200 passengers on three separate flights have successfully undergone COVID-19 tests at the Upper Arrival section of Kotoka International Airport (KIA).

This comes just days after President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announced the opening of Ghana’s air borders effective September 1.

Senior officials of the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Aviation, and Ghana Health Service were at the airport to witness the facilitation process.

Also present were board members of Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL), led by its chairperson, Ms. Oboshie Sai Cofie, and other management staff.

The antigen test being conducted on arriving passengers at the Kotoka International Airport is integral to the government’s decision to reopen the country’s air borders for international flights.

Though Ghana’s COVID-19 cases have remained within manageable limits, authorities are careful not to allow importation of more cases that may spark a second wave, as has been experienced in other parts of the world.

Ghana’s case count currently stands at about 44,300, with over 43,000 recoveries and 1,421 active cases.

By the country’s policy, all international arrivals, including those from the ECOWAS region, will be required to meet specific health protocols before admission into Ghana

An arriving passenger must not have symptoms suggestive of COVID-19, with body temperature not exceeding 38 degrees Celsius. The passenger is also required to possess a negative PCR test result, done at most 72 hours before departure, from a certified lab in the country of departure.

Upon arrival, passengers who were unable to pay online will join a queue to pay US$150 for the COVID-19 test at the payment centre at the Upper Arrival section of Terminal 3, and then proceed to the sampling cubicle for their samples to be taken before descending to the main arrival hall.

At the arrival hall, passengers will be screened at one of the Port Health stations and results of their COVID-19 tests made known to them.

Arriving passengers who test negative will then proceed to immigration and onto baggage claim for their luggage and then exit the terminal. Positive cases will receive further clinical assessment and treatment.