With effect from Saturday, May 20, 2023, all limitations placed at the nation's points of entry as part of attempts to stop the importation and local spread of COVID-19 have been abolished.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared that COVID-19 was no longer a public health emergency of worldwide concern on May 5, 2023, which forms the basis for the national COVID-19 Task Force's decision.
According to the WHO, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has a high degree of community immunity, which has led to a decline in the number of deaths and hospitalizations worldwide.
The relaxation of the limitations in Accra was announced last Saturday by Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS).
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, he clarified the issue. According to him, the decision was also supported by the country's steady drop in COVID-19 instances during the previous five months.
According to him, it was decided at the most recent national COVID-19 Task Force meeting on May 17, 2023, based on the state of the world and the country, that "pre-departure testing and testing at all points of entry are no longer a requirement for all passengers" and that "the COVID-19 health declaration form for international travelers has been suspended" as of May 20, 2023.
But according to Dr. Kuma-Aboagye, some moderate actions, like the national immunization campaign, would continue to be possible and would shield the populace from COVID-19 infections.
People with fever, cough, and sore throat symptoms will be tested for the flu and COVID-19 at the GHS sentinel sites located throughout the continent's 16 regions, according to Dr. Kuma-Aboagye.
"We will continue to use surveillance to find any new COVID-19 variations of concern.
The general population is expected to uphold safety precautions like washing their hands with soap and water or sanitizing them with alcohol.
"People should go to the closest medical institution for treatment if they have a fever, cough, or sore throat.
People who test positive for COVID-19 must be treated according to established standards, the doctor said.
He highlighted the national burden by stating that during the previous five months, COVID-19 cases have been steadily declining across the nation.
There were only 18 current instances as of May 15, 2023, and none of them were serious or critical.
The month of January 2023 saw the lone COVID-19 fatality.
"We have 187,089 international travelers as of January 2023.
More than 98% of these passengers were either completely immunized or were under the age of 18 and were excused from testing in accordance with our national regulations.
As a consequence, only 3,890 passengers had to be tested, and 24 of them had positive results.
"By May 10, 2023, 10.5 million people were fully immunized, and more than 13.5 million people had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
4.5 million people have also received vaccination boosters, he added.
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