Parliamentary Select Committee on Health satisfied with coronavirus procedures at KIA

The Parliamentary Select Committee on Health has expressed satisfaction with the COVID-19 operational procedures for arriving passengers at the Kotoka International Airport.

It said any other observations would be discussed privately with the Airport authorities for solutions.

Members of the Committee, on Wednesday, toured the Airport COVID-19 Testing Centre to have first-hand information about the testing procedures for arrivals.

The tour was also for members to understand the dynamics and operations of the Testing Centre.

Nana Ayew Afriyie, the Chairman of the Committee, briefing the media after the tour, said: “We resumed Parliament yesterday and thought it prudent to tour the Airport, to know what happens as far as COVID-19 protocol is concerned, understand the situation at the moment for stakeholder discussions and redress.”

“We were taken through the processes at the Airport from the arrival of passengers to the exit point. We are impressed with what we saw with regard to the operational processes and any other observations will be discussed privately with the Airport authorities for solutions,” he said.

Mr Akandoh said a major concern was how Port Health officials came into contact with passengers before getting to know their status.

“There are other issues like the cost of testing, which was reduced from 150 dollars to 50 dollars, but I believe after the tour we will engage the Minister of Health and authorities at the Airport and the Ghana Health Service to have wider discussions on how to resolve these challenges,” he said.

Mr Yaw Kwakwa, the Managing Director of the Ghana Airport Company Limited, told the Committee that on arrival at the Airport, all passengers were screened using thermal scanning devices and were also required to fill a health declaration form.

He said the Company, as part of the processes, created banking booths at the Airport for passengers to verify online payment receipts before being ushered into testing booths for their blood samples to be taken with the results ready in 30 minutes.

Dr Patrict Kuma-Aboagye, the Director-General, Ghana Health Service, touching on the management of confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the Airport, said all persons with confirmed cases were handled by the Port Health Unit.

Following completion of the arrival procedures, they would be sent to the Ga East Municipal Hospital for further clinical assessment and management, he said. Dr Kuma-Aboagye said the government had put in place measures to halt a possible third outbreak of the COVID-19 disease in the country and urged those who had received the second vaccination against the virus to continue observing the safety protocols, including wearing face masks.

Dr Kudzo Seneadza, the Managing Director of Frontier Health Services, a certified laboratory at the Airport, assured the public that the company was ensuring quality testing services at the Airport.