Dr Nsiah Asare explains conditions that will lead to re-opening of land borders

The Presidential Advisor on Health, Dr Anthony Nsiah Asare has explained the conditions that need to be met to be able to re-open land borders.

According to him, the government is currently considering ways of containing the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana before reopening land borders.

Dr Nsiah Asare stated that one of the key conditions will be the vaccination of the majority of the Ghanaian populace.

“We are looking at the data, we are looking at the science and everything that is happening.. The President is more concerned about the economic devastation brought by the pandemic.”

“The way to curb this pandemic, apart from the protocols is to ensure that a lot of people are immunized. Once you get a lot of people vaccinated it means the vulnerable people in the country become less and no amount of importation will cause a devastating effect,” said Nsiah Asare on Citi FM.

Protests

Thousands of residents of Elubo, a border town in the Western Region, marched through the streets of the town to protest the government's decision to keep land borders closed.

Protestors say the closure of the land border with the Ivory Coast was having both economic and social implications on their lives.

One woman told the press covering the protests that “our husbands are leaving us” because they are unable to take care of them.

 Elubo residents, like many residents of border towns, are reeling under the stagnation in economic activities following the border closure.

After a mammoth protest in Aflao last Friday, August 27, the residents of Elubo also staged a similar event on Thursday, September 2, 2021.

Ghana’s land borders together with the sea and air borders were closed by an Executive Instrument on Sunday, March 22, 2020.

But goods were allowed to pass to and fro trading countries.

The country’s major international airport was, however, opened to passengers on September 1, 2020, after strict COVID-19 testing measures were put in place.

The protesters are appealing to President Nana Akufo-Addo to set up an antigen testing regime at land borders like he has done for the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) to allow for free movement of persons.