The rule comes into impact on Tuesday at Kotoka Worldwide Airport within the capital Accra, Ghana Airports mentioned. It follows a well being ministry transfer final week to require all folks coming into Ghana to be vaccinated.
The measures are a number of the strictest in Africa, the place vaccine uptake has been challenged by lack of provide and logistical points at the same time as the brand new Omicron variant raises considerations about faster transmission of the virus.
Ghana’s tightening of restrictions comes because the European Funding Financial institution (EIB) introduced a 75 million euro ($85 million) funding mortgage to help its pandemic response – the most important such help for a COVID-19 program in sub-Saharan Africa.
“Ghana has taken vital steps to handle the affect of COVID and to unlock long-term funding,” EIB President Werner Hoyer mentioned in an announcement.
The authorities launched an enormous vaccination drive this month forward of the enforcement from January 22 of a vaccine mandate for focused teams, together with authorities workers, well being staff and college students. It plans to recruit extra well being staff to have the ability to double every day inoculation from 140,000.
Ghana, one among West Africa’s largest economies that runs on exports of cocoa, gold and oil, has to date vaccinated barely greater than 5% of its inhabitants of 30 million, knowledge compiled by Reuters confirmed.
Its well being service has recorded 131,412 infections and 1,239 deaths from COVID-19, in response to the info.
During the last two weeks, COVID-19 instances recorded at Kotoka airport accounted for about 60% of complete infections within the nation, the well being service mentioned on Friday.
