As part of preparations towards the opening of the Kotoka International Airport for the resumption of international airline operations, arriving passengers will be required to take a PCR test at any of the over 70 sampling collection booths set-up at the upper level of the Arrival Hall and results ready between 12-15 minutes.

A state-of-the-art laboratory, which is being set-up at the upper level of the Arrival Hall to process the samples, will transmit the results electronically to the port health stations in the main arrival hall before a passenger gets there.

All passengers with negative PCR tests will then be cleared by Port Health to Proceed to the immigration counter and admitted into Ghana.

Passengers with positive PCR tests will be handed over by port health authorities to health professionals stationed at the facility to be transported to treatment or isolation centres.

By this arrangement, all arriving passengers who test negative will not bear the additional burden of an expensive 14-day quarantine, as has been the case with the many repatriation flights undertaken within the past few months.

Passengers are, however, expected to bear the cost of the PCR test estimated to be between GH¢200-400.

It will be recalled that the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, tied the re-opening of Terminal 3 of the Kotoka International Airport (KIA), possibly on September 1, to the country’s ability to test each passenger upon arrival.

The Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research of the University of Ghana, therefore, began testing the efficacy of a COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Detection Kit, to be deployed for testing in-bound international passengers when the airport is re-opened next month, days ago.

Aviation Minister, Joseph Kofi Adda, speaking after a tour of the facility to ascertain the level of preparedness told Business24 that: “We have done our best, the service providers of GACL have worked throughout the night and we are hopeful that after the simulation exercise on Friday and Saturday, we will be able to open by September 1.”

Departing passengers

Passengers travelling from Ghana to other parts of the world would be required to take a PCR test 72-hours prior to departure and present the negative PCR test to port health officials for verification before they are allowed to complete departure formalities.

Wearing of face mask is compulsory for all passengers except children under six years and for medical reasons-which must be proven.

President Akufo-Addo is expected to address the nation on Sunday and will possibly announce the opening of the KIA if the planned simulation exercises are successful.