People arriving in Ghana are to present a test result from an accredited laboratory their country
The Minority in Parliament has served notice to the government to compel Frontier Healthcare Services Limited to have all its Coronavirus test results of travellers who enter Ghana through the Kotoka International Airport (KIA), independently verified, since some of those quarantined after entering the country, are doubting the authenticity of their results as produced by the service provided.
Videos and audios to that effect have flooded social media in the past few hours.
Speaking to the parliamentary press corps on 30 July 2021, the ranking member of the Health Committee of Parliament, Mr Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, said: “Our attention has been drawn to the fact that a lot of travelers who are going through testing at the Kotoka International Airport are doubting the results of those tests and videos and audios have gone viral to that effect”.
“But it will be irresponsible for us, as a Minority, to say those tests should be stopped at our entry points because it is important in our fight against COVID-19 that we have those tests”, he said.
“That notwithstanding, to bring this matter to a close, we think that we will recommend to the government, as a matter of urgency, to come up with a measure that those who are doubting their COVID-19 status to have an independent opinion on their status”, Mr Akandoh suggested.
“It is a huge concern to us because in the initial stages, we thought that whatever you do, there were going to be a few complaints about the systems, so, I thought it was normal; but I think it is becoming too many and, therefore, we must have an alternative to solve this particular situation”, he noted.
Mr Akandoh warned, “I am also drawing the attention of the people doing the testing to check their reagents and equipment”, adding: “If it is found out that their equipment is deficient, we will not hesitate to call on the government to abrogate their contract.”
The Ghana Airport Company Limited and Frontier Healthcare Services Limited have been partnering to offer Coronavirus testing at the Kotoka International Airport via a Test Center within the immediate vicinity. This is an FIA-Antigen Qualitative Test (Fluorescent Immunoassay), which detects whether there is an acute infection with the virus, and, thus, the risk of infecting other people they come in contact with.
Test results, according to Frontier Healthcare Services Limited’s website, are made available in just 12 minutes. As part of efforts to stem the tide of the pandemic, all passengers arriving in Ghana are to have a negative COVID‑19 PCR test result in English from an accredited laboratory in their country of origin.
The test are to be done not more than 72 hours before the scheduled departure from the country of origin.
At the airport, passengers are subjected to a mandatory COVID‑19 PCR test at a cost of between $50 and $150 for Ghanaian and non-Ghanaian passengers, respectively.
Passengers who test positive for COVID‑19 are made to undergo mandatory isolation and treatment at a designated health facility or isolation centre, at their own cost except for Ghanaian citizens.