London, Jan. 5, 2020 (AltAfrica)-At a time many countries are closing borders to international visitors, Ghana is wooing more international visitors to the country with a promise to foot all bills for their mandatory isolation and treatment should they test positive for coronavirus on arrival

Ghana President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo made the offer during his 21st COVID-19 address to the nation on Sunday, 3 January 2021 after a significant increase in the number of covid cases among international arrivals at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) in the month of December 2020 

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The president revealed that: “As of 1st January 2021, a total of seven hundred and twelve (712) positive cases, out of one hundred and eighteen thousand, two hundred and seventy-eight (118,278) tests conducted, have been recorded among international arrivals at the Kotoka International Airport. Indeed, the month of December alone recorded three hundred and eighty-seven (387) cases. The positivity rate among international arrivals rose from 0.26% in September to 0.93% in December”.

“These developments call for strengthening of the existing protocols to prevent the spread of the disease in Ghana, in light of the new variant of the virus. Therefore, the following measures will be implemented, in addition to existing guidelines on International Travel for COVID-19, in Ghana:

1. all arriving passengers who test positive for COVID-19, asymptomatic or not, will undergo mandatory isolation and treatment at a designated health facility or isolation centre. The isolation will be for a period of seven (7) days at the cost to the government. However, the final discharge of cases will be based on existing case management guidelines and protocols;

2. All passengers who are in isolation will undergo a repeat COVID-19 test within twenty-four (24) hours of arrival, with the cost also borne by the government. This test will also include genomic sequencing for COVID-19

3. All passengers who test negative for COVID-19 will be required to adhere continuously to COVID-19 safety protocols, and will receive regular information on COVID-19 within five (5) days of arrival in Ghana”.

The President added: “I want to assure all Ghanaians that the testing regime in place at Kotoka International Airport is amongst the strictest in the world, and, as certified by the Food and Drugs Authority, it is capable of detecting this new variant of COVID-19, which is plaguing other nations around the world