Former President, John Dramani Mahama, has called on government to immediately review the country's Covid-19 PCR testing at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).

According to him, a personal experience has proven that the current measure is an "inconvenience, a financial burden and unfair."

In a Facebook post, Mr. Mahama revealed that when he traveled to London last month, he was not required to take a Covid-19 PCR test before boarding the British Airways flight.

However, retuning home, he was informed by the airline that he would have to take a PCR test before boarding the flight as a requirement.

He said; "It cost £90 to have the test done. I was also informed that I would not be checked in for the flight back unless I filled an online form and paid a fee of $50," adding that international arrivals, who are vaccinated "must book another $50 PCR test to be conducted on arrival in Accra."

He described these measures as "ridiculous."

For the former President, it must not be the case that Ghanaians who have valid vaccination certificates cannot board flights back home without a £90 PCR test, and an additional US$50 PCR test booking in Accra, particularly when the UK government considers the Ghanaian Covid-19 vaccination card internationally accepted and allows entry without any testing.

Mr John Mahama, therefore, stressed that; "Government must stop the US$50 compulsory PCR test for travellers who have been vaccinated."

He also urged government to "stop the demand for PCR tests before the same category of travellers are allowed to board flights to Ghana."

The former President believes that it is time Ghana rolls back its Covid-19 restrictions as seen in the UK due to the reduction in deaths and severe cases requiring intensive care.

Find the current Covid-19 guidelines at KIA below:

COVID-19 Guidelines for Kotoka International Airport (KIA): Revision 8

1. Pre- Arrival Processes – Travellers intending to enter Ghana

All international passengers including those from the ECOWAS region, intending to fly to Ghana, will be required to meet the following health requirements prior to admission into Ghana:

a. For passengers who already have a PanaBios account, enter your country of origin and set the destination to Ghana on https://trustedtravel.panabios.org or on the UNDP-endorsed Global Haven site: www.globalhaven.org.

b. Passengers who do not have an account should create an account on the AU-endorsed site: https://trustedtravel.panabios.org.

c. Passengers are advised to visit only a TT laboratory. If there are none close to you, take your test at another accredited lab on the PanaBIOS or Global Haven labs registry.

d. If you take your test at a TT lab, give lab the same email address used to open your account, the result will be automatically delivered to your account bearing a TT code.

e. Ensure that the test is conducted within 72 hours before the scheduled departure time from the country of origin.

f. If you do not visit a TT lab, upload your test result or certificate by choosing the “test taken at a non-TT lab option”.

g. The result/certificate will be immediately analysed. If the test results issued satisfy the full requirements set by Ghana, e,g validity period or test type), a Travel Code (TC) will be issued to the traveller online and the result displayed in a few minutes as evidence that the test performed is still valid at the time of travel.

Whilst the TT code confirms that a test was performed by an accredited laboratory, the TC provides additional evidence that the test performed is still valid at the time of start of travel.

2. Arriving Passengers – Travellers Entering Ghana

a. All persons 18 years and above arriving in Ghana will be required to provide evidence of full vaccination for a COVID-19 vaccine at the point of embarkation.

Definition of Fully Vaccinated: A person is said to be fully vaccinated when:

i. He/she has taken the full dose(s) of vaccines approved and registered by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), Ghana.

ii. He/she has taken the full dose(s) of vaccines that are on World Health Organization (WHO) Emergency Use Listing.

However, persons who are vaccinated with vaccines on WHO Emergency Use Listing but not registered by FDA, Ghana for Emergency Use Authorization will be offered one of the FDA, Ghana approved vaccines on arrival at the airport.

b. All unvaccinated Ghanaians and residents of Ghana who are currently outside the country and intend to return within 14 days from 0000HRS of 14th December 2021 are exempted (14th – 28th December 2021). They would, however, be vaccinated on arrival at the airport.

c. Airlines that bring passengers to Kotoka International Airport who are not fully vaccinated shall be surcharged $3500 per passenger.

d. All passengers are required to present evidence of having filled Ghana’s Health Declaration Form (HDF) at www.ghs-hdf.org at the point of embarkation.

e. Airlines that bring passengers to Kotoka International Airport who had not filled HDF shall be surcharged $3500 per passenger.

f. Passengers must not have symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 including body temperature >38°C.

g. Passengers must possess a COVID-19 negative PCR test from an accredited laboratory in the country of origin. The test should have been done not more than 72 hours before the scheduled departure time from the country of origin.

h. Airlines who board passengers without PCR test result or transport and disembark passengers with Positive PCR test result into Accra will be fined US$3,500 per passenger.

i. Non-Ghanaians may be refused entry and returned to the point of embarkation at a cost to the Airline.

ii. Ghanaians will be allowed entry but subject to 14 days of mandatory quarantine at a designated facility.

i. Arriving passengers will undergo temperature screening.

j. Ghanaian residents who depart Ghana and return within one (1) week will not be required to present a COVID-19 result from the country of departure. They will, however, undergo mandatory COVID-19 testing upon arrival in Ghana.

k. Passengers will be subjected to a mandatory COVID-19 test at the airport terminal at a cost to be borne by the passenger as indicated below:

i. Ghanaians and Ecowas Citizens – $50

ii. All Other Passengers – $150

Payment MUST be made online at https://myfrontierhealthcare.com/Home/Ghana and proof of payment (receipt) shown to Airline before boarding.

l. Airlines who board passengers without proof of payment for the COVID-19 test and would/could NOT pay for the test in Ghana, will be fined US$3,500 per passenger.

i. Non-Ghanaian passengers may be refused entry and returned to the point of embarkation at a cost to the Airline.

m. All arriving passengers who test positive for COVID-19 will undergo mandatory isolation and treatment at a designated health facility or isolation centre, at a cost to passengers, EXCEPT Ghanaian citizens. The isolation will be for a period of seven (7) days. However, the final discharge of cases will be based on existing case management guidelines and protocols.

n. All passengers who test negative for COVID-19 will be required to continuously adhere to COVID-19 safety protocols and will receive regular information on COVID-19 within five (5) days of arrival in Ghana.

o. Passengers who test negative will be advised to continue to observe COVID-19 safety precautions following arrival in Ghana.

p. For passengers who transit through other countries before arriving in Ghana, the first country of departure will be the reference point. (Connecting flights should not deny passenger boarding, if the journey has not been terminated in any of the transit countries.)

3. Transit Passengers

a. Passengers transiting and transferring through Accra will not be required to take the COVID-19 test in Accra.

b. Transit passengers will be required to adhere to COVID-19 testing requirements for the destination countries.

4. Exemptions

a. Airline crew are exempted from the pre-departure and arrival COVID-19 testing and should follow the Airline policy for testing.

b. Children under 5 years of age will not be required to undergo testing on Arrival at the Kotoka International Airport.

c. Children between the ages of 5-12 years will be tested free of charge upon arrival at KIA.

d. Passengers who arrive under emergency circumstances such as diverted flights will not be required to undergo testing if they do not leave the airport or remain in isolation in their hotel.

5. Travelling with Pets

a. Travelling with pets into Ghana is allowed in line with guidelines of the Veterinary Services Directorate of the Ministry of Food & Agriculture

6. Airlines with Landing Rights in Ghana

a. No airline should bring passengers into Ghana without first pre-validating their TT code (received from a TT lab) or TC issued online after a genuine PCR test result has been uploaded and analyzed using the PanaBIOS or Global Haven software.

b. Airlines must issue TCs on behalf of illiterate travelers who arrive at check-in with only their genuine PCR test results.

c. Airlines that fail to comply with these rules would be surcharged $3500.

7. Pre-Departure Process- Passengers intending to exit Ghana

All international departing passengers will be required to meet the following guidelines prior to departure:

a. Create an account on the AU-endorsed site: https://trustedtravel.panabios.org. On the check-in page, check for accredited laboratories by entering Ghana as your origin country.

b. Passengers are advised to visit only laboratories that have the Trusted Travel (TT) logo next to their name on the platform to take their PCR test.

c. At the laboratory, give the same email address and mobile number you entered when creating your PanaBIOS account.

d. Once your result is ready, it will automatically appear in the account with the TT number issued by the lab. Look out for an email from admin@panabios.org or an SMS message.

e. The Trusted Travel test (TT) code shall be verified by airlines and Port Health Authorities to confirm that the test came from an accredited laboratory.

8. Departure Process – Passengers exiting Ghana

a. All Ghanaians 18 years old and above travelling out of the country are to be fully vaccinated effective 0000HRS of 14th December 2021.

Definition of Fully Vaccinated – A person is said to be fully vaccinated when:

i. He/she has taken the full dose(s) of vaccines approved and registered by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), Ghana.

ii. He/she has taken the full dose(s) of vaccines that are on World Health Organization (WHO) Emergency Use Listing.

b. Passengers will be required to adhere to COVID-19 testing requirements for the destination countries

c. Departing passengers will undergo temperature screening at the entrance of Terminal 3 departures

d. Only passengers and persons with business in the terminal will be allowed entry

e. Online check-in or the use of self-service kiosks is strongly encouraged to reduce physical contact at the airport

f. Passengers are advised to arrive at the airport at least 4 hours before the scheduled departure time.