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The Deputy Minister of Health, Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye, has revealed that six new cases of coronavirus have been registered at the Kotoka International Airport since its reopening.
Speaking on JoyNews’ The Lockdown, he said the first case was recorded on Friday, another two on Saturday and the other three on Sunday.
According to Dr. Oko-Boye, these people had reported a negative PCR test in their home countries.
He said these cases were caught because of the $ 150 Covid-19 test that the government insisted on for travelers.
“All of our problems in Ghana started with about four or five cases. So really those who are talking about $ 150, if we had gone for compromised technology and those with negative PCR tests had slipped, all we need is a gentleman who is positive with a viral load, that’s huge, visit us at this country and we are back in a lockdown. “
His comment was in defense of the measures implemented by the government before the country’s airport reopened to traffic.
Among other directives, travelers had been instructed to undergo a PCR test 72 hours before visiting the country and also undergo a $ 150 antigen test after landing.
Many people expressed concern about the price of the test that takes place at the airport.
However, Dr. Oko Boye insists that the amount is fair.
“I always say that the alternative, which is for a person to slip in with the virus, is so serious, too serious to contemplate. Remember that we do not go in for the product and the price, smiling and everyone excited, “he said.
He added that the government also did not want to take travelers by bus back to hotels and make them pay for their stays for two weeks.
This, he explained, will cost them much more than the $ 150 covid-19 test.
“When KLM arrived at the airport on September 1, they were supposed to use the previous arrangement, which was two weeks of quarantine.”
“Everyone had paid the hotel bills, but guess what, there were fifty passengers who offered to pay $ 150 because they had negative PCR tests.
“For them, time is too expensive to spend two weeks in a hotel watching television.”
Meanwhile, Ghana’s active Covid-19 cases number 801 with a total case count of 44,777.
The country has also registered 43,693 recoveries and 283 deaths.
