A total of 26 new coronavirus cases have been recorded at the Kotoka International Airport since its reopening.
President Nana Akufo-Addo announced this during his 17th address to the nation on measures his administration has put in place to fight Covid-19 Sunday.
“Sixteen (16) out of the twenty-three (23) airlines that operated in Kotoka prior to its closure have, again, commenced flights to and from Accra. As at yesterday, Saturday, 19th September, a total of ten thousand and sixty-one (10,061) passengers have been tested at Kotoka.
In spite of the requirement that all passengers must be in possession of a negative PCR test result upon their arrival in Ghana, a test which should have been conducted not more than seventy-two (72) hours before the scheduled departure from the country of origin, a total of twenty-six (26) positive cases have been recorded from the tests at KIA,” the president said.
President Akufo-Addo, thus, felt vindicated about those who complained about the cost of testing. “Let us pause for a moment and imagine what would have happened if these twenty-six (26) positives had not been detected, and had been allowed to mingle with the population.”
He indicated that, but for the $150 Covid-19 PCR test initiated by the government, these travelers would have imported the virus into the country. Even though the cost of one hundred and fifty United States dollars (US$150) per passenger, for the mandatory airport COVID test, has been criticised in certain quarters, the value of the test in its speed, accuracy and savings for passengers, who no longer have to bear the cost of the 14-day mandatory quarantine in hotels, has been clearly established.