Ghanaians advised to cancel non-essential travels

In a bid to ensure the safety of Ghanaians, and to prevent a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, the Ghana Health Service (GHS), through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, has advised Ghanaians to cancel or postpone non-essential foreign travels.

A public announcement from the Foreign Ministry indicated that travelers leaving and arriving in the country should also understand that “only test result or certificates bearing trusted travel or Biomars codes will be considered for travel out of Ghana.”

Travelers are also expected to sign up for accounts on trustedtravel.panabios.org with the same email address and mobile numbers provided to laboratories during testing.

Additionally, travelers arriving in Ghana must now verify their Covid-19 certificates using the UNDP-Supported Global Haven certificate verification tool (www.globalhaven.org) before they are allowed entry.

Isolation

“All arriving passengers who test negative for COVID-19 at the airport are encouraged to self-isolate for 10 days,” it said.

It further noted that all passengers arriving from designated COVID-19 hotspots and testing negative at the airport may be subjected to a repeat test on third day of arrival at their cost.

Earlier this week, providers of the mandatory PCR test at the airport, Frontier Health Services, raised concerns over the high number of positive COVID-19 cases recorded among international travelers. The company called for new guidelines to be implemented to curtail the influx of positive cases in the country.

As at April 25, Ghana’s cases stood at 92,513 cumulatively, with an active case of 1,583. So far, 90,151 persons have recovered and discharged while 27 and eight persons are in severe and critical conditions respectively.

According to the GHS, 779 persons have died from the virus in Ghana.

About The Author