Kotoka International Airport in Ghana’s capital city of Accra announced that it will start fining the airlines $3,500 for every passenger who has not been vaccinated against COVID-19.
New rule at Ghana’s main international airport goes into effect today and follows the country’s health ministry’s directive to make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for all people entering the country.
New regulations also come after the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced a €75 million ($85 million) investment loan to support Ghana’s battle against the pandemic.
“Ghana has taken significant steps to manage the impact of COVID-19 and to unlock long-term investment,” EIB President Werner Hoyer said in a statement yesterday.
Ghana broadened its vaccination program earlier this month ahead of a planned enforcement of the vaccine mandate for certain groups in January. This will cover government employees, health workers and students. Authorities also plan enlist more health workers to double the daily inoculation rate from the current 140,000. According to most recent data, only 5% of Ghana’s 30 million population have been vaccinated so far.
Ghana’s health service reported last week that COVID-19 cases recorded at Kotoka International Airport accounted for about 60% of total infections in the country.
Ghana is one of West Africa’s largest economies and a leading exporter of cocoa, gold and oil.
It would be interesting if there are any airline crew members that arrived in Ghana that were not vaccinated? If so, the airline should be banned for a a set time or be required to prove that all crew members that are due to arrive in Ghana be fully vaccinated prior to departing from their location.