Beginning on May 20, 2023, international travellers to Ghana will no longer be required to complete the COVID-19 health declaration form.
Additionally, all passengers are no longer required to undergo pre-departure testing as well as examinations at all points of entry.
These were stated in a letter from Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, Director General of the Ghana Health Service, addressed to all media organisations with the subject line “Lifting of COVID-19 Restrictions at All Points of Entry in Ghana.”
These decisions, according to the letter, were made at a meeting of the National COVID-19 Task Force on May 17, 2023, regarding the international and domestic COVID-19 situation.
The following precautions were to be kept up, according to the letter, in order to protect people from COVID-19 and maintain constant vigilance.
It was noted that the COVID-19 vaccination campaign would continue and that individuals with cough, fever, and sore throat symptoms would be examined for flu and COVID-19 at all sentinel locations throughout the nation’s 16 regions.
“Surveillance will continue to help us identify any COVID-19 variants of concern.
” Persons with complaints of fever, cough, or sore throat should report to the nearest health facility for management,” the letter advised.
It stated that individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 were to be treated according to established protocols.
In Ghana, outbreaks of Marburg virus disease, Lassa fever, Monkeypox, Measles, and Yellow fever have been reported since COVID-19 was declared a public health emergency of public concern, according to the letter.
In spite of these dangers, it was noted that the nation’s health system had maintained adequate capacity.
According to the statement, the Ghana Health Service and the Ministry of Health would maintain operational readiness and flexibility to respond to COVID-19 outbreaks with the help of their partners.
It declared that the GHS would continue to provide other crucial medical services and be ready for any sudden changes in capacity.
In accordance with the letter, the World Health Organisation declared COVID-19 to no longer be a worldwide Public Health Emergency International Concern (PHEIC) on May 5, 2023.
With increasing levels of population immunity against SARS Co.v-2, it was stated that there were fewer concerns about mortality and hospitalisation.
It noted that though covid-19 remained a global health threat, it was time for countries to transition from emergency mode to managing it alongside other infectious diseases.
The letter stated that over the previous five months, there had been a consistent decrease in COVID-19 cases across the nation.
The only covid-19 death in 2023 occurred in January, it added, and there were only 18 active cases as of May 15, 2023, none of which were severe or critical.
According to the letter, there have been 187,089 international passengers arriving in the country since January 2023, with more than 98 percent either fully vaccinated or persons under the age of 18 exempted from testing based on the national guide.
As a result, only 3,890 people were required to be tested, with 24 of them testing positive.
It went on to say that as of May 19, 2023, more than 13.5 million people had received at least one dose of the vaccine, 10.5 million were fully vaccinated, and 4.5 million had taken the vaccine.