ACCRA, Dec 13 — The operator of Ghana’s main international airport will fine airlines US$3,500 (RM14,744) for every passenger they bring in that is not vaccinated against Covid-19 or that tests positive for the coronavirus on arrival, it said today.
The rules, announced by Ghana Airports, follow others introduced last week by the health ministry that require all people entering Ghana to be vaccinated. They come into effect for the Kotoka International Airport in the capital Accra tomorrow.
The requirements are some of the strictest in Africa where vaccine uptake has been slow due to lack of supply and logistical challenges, and come as the new Omicron variant raises concerns about quicker transmission of the virus.
Ghana, one of West Africa’s largest economies that runs on exports of cocoa, gold and oil, has so far vaccinated a little over 5% of its population of 30 million, data compiled by Reuters showed.
Its health service has recorded 131,412 infections and 1,239 deaths from Covid-19, according to the data.
Over the last two weeks, Covid-19 cases recorded at Kotoka airport accounted for about 60 per cent of total infections in the country, the health service said on Friday. — Reuters