Government has re-opened the Kotoka International Airport to international passenger traffic, after five months of closure.

The airport was closed to international passenger traffic about five months ago as part of restrictions to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Delivering his 16th address to the nation since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, President Akufo-Addo announced that government has decided to re-open the airport because public health officials can now conduct rapid tests to enable the isolation of passengers who might arrive in the country with the novel coronavirus.

“I am glad to announce that KIA will reopen and resume operations from Tuesday, September 1, 2020. This decision has been communicated to international airlines across the world. After weeks of thorough work, I am satisfied that it is safe to do so,” he said.

He said passengers must be in possession of negative COVID-19 test result and test should have been done not more than 72 hours before the scheduled time of the flight.

Two weeks ago when he addressed the nation, the President said there were ongoing stakeholders engagements on measures to be put in place to assure a safe re-opening of the country’ borders.

“It has been well-established that the very first cases of COVID-19 in Ghana were imported into our shores. We are determined to make sure this scenario does not recur.

“The commitment to ensuring that the gradual easing of restrictions, including the reopening of our airports, does not lead to the importation or resurgence of the virus into our country, is firmly in place,” he said.

Source:myjoyonline.com