The Presidential Advisor on Health, Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare, has justified the government’s decision to place travel restrictions on Malta, South Korea, and Israel in the wake of the threat posed by COVID-19 infections.
Dr. Nsiah-Asare on Eyewitness News on Citi FM, said the ban falls in line with the government’s efforts in averting a fourth wave of covid-19 in the country.
Dr. Nsiah-Asare said it was not out of place for the government to resort to a travel ban as other countries had taken similar steps.
“If you go to some countries, they have put some people on red alert. Some countries are on lockdown. All we are saying is that if you want to come to Ghana from outside Ghana make sure you are vaccinated.”
Responding to criticisms against the government’s vaccination drive, Dr. Nsiah-Asare insisted that the government had not made vaccinations compulsory for the citizens.
“We are not forcing anybody. The Ghana government is not arresting anybody and giving them vaccinations. There is nothing like mandatory vaccination.”
Mr. Nsiah Asare also confirmed that the country’s cases of COVID-19 had recently surged.
“We are going up. There is a slight surge. We are now in the hundreds,” he said.
He indicated that there could be a possibility of a spread of the omicron variant among communities in Ghana, following the detection of some cases at the Kotoka International Airport.
“We know that once you get imported cases, it is likely you get a community spread so we take it that it is widespread among the positive cases we have.”
