The government has said it has put in place robust testing of COVID-19 at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) to manage possible cases of the new Omicron variant in the country.

The Ghana Health Service last Wednesday, December 1, 2021, announced that the country had recorded the Omicron variant from some travelers into the country.

Subsequently, the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research said it has detected 34 cases of the variant in sequenced samples that were taken from 120 returning travellers.

Speaking to Citi News, the Presidential advisor on health, Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare, said the country will continue to do mandatory isolation for all persons who will come into the country during the yuletide.

According to him, robust testing would be conducted at the airport to curb the spread.

“Because of the robust testing system that we have put in at the airport which we have even strengthened further for the Christmas festivities, we will continually be isolating anybody who tests positive and test him or her again on the third day, and if the person tests positive again, we will give him or her another seven days.”

Already, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has asked Ghanaians to strictly adhere to the COVID-19 protocols.

According to him, the fight against the virus which hit the country’s borders last year is far from over.

”Despite having a relatively lower active case count of 727 persons infected with COVID-19, as of November 28, 2021, and vaccinating a total of 5,566,210 persons, it is important to bear in mind that the pandemic is far from over.”

”Last Sunday, the Ghana Health Service announced several other additional important measures aimed at ensuring that we continue to win the fight against the virus. I appeal to all of you to adhere to them diligently.”

Meanwhile, the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, has said the government will from January 2022 inspect COVID-19 vaccination cards of specific groups of persons in the country, including commercial drivers.

According to him, the move forms part of measures by the government to whip up interest in the vaccines and also win the war against COVID-19.