Ghana Orders Vaccinations for Restaurant, Stadium Access

By FRANCIS KOKUTSE

November 29, 2021

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Ghana’s government is ordering access to beaches, restaurants, night clubs and stadiums be limited to people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19, as part of its efforts to fight the spread of the virus.

While the omicron variant of coronavirus has not yet been identified in the West African nation, the government health service is “taking steps to protect the country towards the Christmas season,” Ghana’s health service director-general Patrick Kuma-Aboagye said.

At least 5.45 million people of Ghana’s population of 31 million have received at least one vaccine dose. Vaccines being given in Ghana include AstraZeneca, Sputnik V, Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson.

Ghana’s land borders are closed and air travelers are required to have a PCR test within 72 hours of arrival and antigen tests upon arrival.

Ghana aims to administer 20 million doses of vaccines by the end of 2021, Kuma-Aboagye said in a statement issued Sunday.

“Among COVID-19 deaths at the Ghana Infectious Diseases Center, 12.5% of the deaths were persons who had been vaccinated (they also had severe underlying medical conditions). The rest, 87.5%, hadn’t been vaccinated,” he said.

Ghana has recorded more than 1,209 deaths and 130,920 cases of COVID-19.