More than 9,000 Ghanaians stranded abroad were evacuated into the country during the five-month lockdown and closure of the country’s airspace to contain the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
Ghana announced the closure its borders on March 22, 2020.
Local media reports on Monday said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration had in a statement on Friday announced the completion of the evacuation exercise and that the stranded persons were brought in from about 27 countries.
The countries included Benin, Burkina Faso, China, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, India, Iraq, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Kenya, Kuwait, Mali, Oman, Qatar and Russian Federation.
Others were flown in from Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, The Gambia, Togo, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates (UAE), United Kingdom and United States of America.
The reports added that the completion of the exercise followed the opening of the Kotoka International Airport to commercial flights on September 1, 2020.
“The government assisted and covered the cost of travel and quarantine of a number of Ghanaians, in particular those arriving from China, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, UAE and all the evacuations undertaken within the West Africa region, including all students who arrived during the period,” the reports quoted the statement as saying.
GIK/APA