Okoe-Boye Okoe-Boye defends $150 mandatory coronavirus test

The Deputy Minister of Health, Bernard Okoe-Boye has defended the $150 charge for Covid-19 PCR test for travelers arriving in the country.

In his sixteenth address on the coronavirus pandemic, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said that people arriving in the country from Tuesday, September 1, 2020 will be subjected to a coronavirus testing that will last thirty minutes.

The move is part of plans to ensure the virus is not imported in the country as seen in the first two reported cases of the virus in the country earlier in March.

At a press conference to provide further details on the president’s announcement, Dr Benard Oko-Boye said that the price for the testing is worth it.

He opined that the pricing was informed by their assessment of charges from other countries.

“The cost of the test will not put unnecessary difficulty or burden on the passenger. We looked at what is being charged across the globe so when you go to a place like Zimbabwe you pay about $210 for a test.

“In China, you pay about $150 for a test and they are even doing PCR which is a very good test that identifies the virus itself. But in China after paying $150 you have to wait for about 6 hours average before you get results.

“Also remember that anyone coming into Ghana must have a negative PCR test and on the average, in Europe, if you enter a lab to do that, it is about 100 euros”.

Managing Director of the Ghana Airports Company Limited, Yaw Kwakwa reiterated the duration of the testing process and praised its efficiency.

“It takes a maximum of 30 minutes for a particular passenger to go through the entire process and get his or her results.

“This system is so convenient that passengers will practically go through our terminal building with only a fraction of time added to what they used to do before”.

He urged the various airlines to ensure that passengers strictly adhere to the protocols before and during their trips.

He added that provisions have been made for travelers to change their nose masks when they arrive at their airport.

“It is mandatory for any airline coming to Ghana to ensure that passengers have a face mask on but we know that some of our people will be traveling from afar”.

“When you are coming from London, you will probably travel like six hours and so when you land at the KIA and you come through the passenger door and get to the edge of the terminal building, we will give you a fresh face mask”.

“There is a service provider that we are using to do all of this. So we give you the face mask and you start going through the process. When you enter you go to the far end of the upper part of arrivals and you queue to go through the testing centre”.

“But one convenience is that there is no country that you can go through the process and be able to get the results within 30 minutes and if you are negative the health professionals take over from there,” he said

Read Full Story