Ghana reopens borders, lifts most of the COVID-19 restrictions

In his 28th nationwide COVID-19 address last night, Ghana’s President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announced that after reviewing the raft of measures put in place to help win the fight against the COVID-19 virus, the decision was made to reopen the country’s land and sea borders for travel and lift most of the coronavirus restrictions that are currently in effect.

According to the president, rapidly declining number of new COVID-19 infections in the country, and the relative success of the vaccination campaign by the Ghana Health Service contributed to the government’s decision to ease the pandemic restrictions.

Fully vaccinated foreign travelers will be allowed entry into Ghana through the land and sea borders without a negative PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test result from the country of origin, the president said.

The president also announced that the wearing of face masks is no longer mandatory, starting today, but encouraged the citizens to continue to maintain enhanced hand hygiene practices and avoid overcrowded gatherings.

All in-person activities, including religious gatherings, conferences, workshops, and funerals, may resume at full capacity, as long as the audience and participants are fully vaccinated, but hand washing and hand sanitizing points should be made available, the president added.

“It has been a difficult two years, and we see light at the end of a very long tunnel. I appeal to all of us to live responsibly, protect ourselves, and do everything we can to stay safe as we lift these restrictions,” the president said.