The government of Ghana has indicated that, it might consider banning flights from Ebola affected countries should they suspect that anyone travelling into Ghana has the virus.
The World Health Organisation has urged governments not to impose blanket bans on trade and travel on Ebola-affected countries but Kenya on Saturday declared a travel ban on people flying from Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.
But the Deputy Minister of Transport Joyce Bawa Mogtari speaking to Citi Business News on whether or not Ghana would consider banning flights from Ebola infected countries as Kenya has done she says
“In the event that we find that people arriving into the country from certain specific countries are found to have the virus or are texted to have fever, am sure that drastic measures would be taken which could include banning of flights from these countries.”
With the ban imposed by Kenya which takes effect Tuesday midnight, Nigeria which allows entry of health professionals and Kenyans returning from those countries was not included in the ban. The outbreak began in the forested zone on the borders of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia earlier this year, and spread to Nigeria last month.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that the risk of Ebola transmission from air travel is low, but the level of fear is so high that several airlines have disregarded the UN agency’s advice. The deadly Ebola disease has already killed at least 1,145 people across West Africa this year alone.
Joyce Bawa Mogtari stressed the fact that government will ban flights from affected countries as part of its drastic measures to protect the country’s citizenry from being infected by deadly virus.
“This is an emergency situation we have on our hands, so whatever it would entail for us to try and prevent this Ebola, we would do it to the best of our ability”
