Airport Reopening: Health Ministry Justifies $150 COVID-19 Testing Fee

A Deputy Health Minister, Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye has justified the US$150 COVID-19 test fee to be paid by travellers arriving in Ghana by air following the reopening of the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).

The KIA opened yesterday, September 1, 2020, for international flights following the institution of enhanced safety protocols at the facility to prevent the importation of the Coronavirus into Ghana.

Per the new guidelines, travellers arriving in the country aree expected to pay US$150 for a mandatory COVID-19 test.

Speaking in an interview with Bernard Koku Avle on Citi FM on Tuesday monitored by The New Publisher, Dr Okoe Boye said the fee was reasonable compared with global charges.

“As a ministry and a government who are stakeholders in the management of COVID-19, we were very much interested in the cost of the test. We wanted to make sure that the cost of the test will not put an unnecessary burden on the passenger. So we quickly looked at what is being charged across the globe,” he said.

The deputy minister explained that, “when you go to a place like Zimbabwe you will pay about $210 for the test. In China, you will pay about $150 for the test. In Togo and Benin you will pay about 150 euros and in Nigeria, it is 130 dollars but you will have to go to a hotel and lodge till the results are ready.

“With the turnaround time and accuracy of the test assured, we had to decide whether the $150 was enough to cover all the expenses. We finally agreed to peg it at that for now,” he added.

He also explained that the new arrangement was very prudent as compared to the previous arrangement where travellers had to pay for accommodation for two weeks to enable them quarantine for the period while awaiting their results.

According to him, the measures put in place will help prevent any infected person from slipping through the system.

Some of the measures require that passengers arriving in Ghana would have to get PCR test results from a certified laboratory.

“We want to ensure that we don’t go back to high numbers in terms of the case count so as a concerned Ministry, we insisted on having a safe reopening of our international airports. And we are happy to say that so far the measures that have been put in place do guarantee a very safe airport. That’s because we have mechanisms that are able to identify and pick persons with the virus. As mentioned yesterday, Sunday, August 30, 202] by President Akufo-Addo, it is well established that our first cases came from outside the country and COVID-19 is not an endemic disease.

“It came from other places and so far the single biggest source of risk of getting the virus into the country is our international airport and that is why as a ministry we are glad to say the measures put in place do guarantee safe reopening. We have gone for a testing regime that identifies the virus, and also a person who arrives in Ghana must possess a negative COVID-19 PCR test result from an accredited laboratory in the country of origin. The test should have been done not less than 72-hours before the scheduled departure from the country of origin. Meaning before you even embark on your journey, you have a negative test result,” he further indicated.

Persons who test positive for COVID-19 after arrival will be held at the Ga East Hospital.

The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye made this known when he outlined the procedures and exemptions at the airport.

“For arriving passengers, as mentioned earlier, you must have a negative PCR test result of at most 72-hours before you enter the country. Ghanaians who travel for meetings and return in less than a week or within a week will be exempted from having a negative PCR test results. Persons who get down in Ghana and test positive, port health officials will take over and assist you through immigration to prevent any further contamination and there is a holding room you will be sent to and your items will be sent to you and then all of them will be sent to the Ga East Hospital.”

President  Akufo-Addo on August 30 announced the reopening of Ghana’s air borders for human traffic which will take effect on Tuesday, September 1, 2020.

“I am glad to announce that the Kotoka International Airport will resume operations on Tuesday, September 1, 2020. This has been communicated to all international airlines,” the President said.