COVID-19: Vaccination cards will be required for entry to events in December

Patrons attending events during the Christmas season will be required to show proof of their vaccination, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture has said.

“We want to keep you and your siblings and your family alive because if we should come together at a particular place, especially indoor events, and we do not put some checks and balances in place, we’re likely to have challenges after December,” the Deputy Tourism Minister, Mark Okraku Mantey, said in an interview on Joy FM’s Showbiz A to Z on Saturday.

According to him, these are among many safety measures to avert a possible spread of Covid-19 during and after the yuletide.

He indicated that this will also help provide a safe zone for persons engaged in any form of celebration during the festive season.

“When you want to go for any event, especially when we’ve launched ‘December in GH’, we’re saying that we’re targeting about 150,000 people entering the country between now and January; we don’t have to go and have fun and come back with Covid-19,” he added.

So far, events such as Afrochella, Rhythms on the Runway, Taste of Ghana, Takoradi Festival, Kwanzaa in Ghana, Diaspora Transition, and GUBA awards have been sanctioned by the Ghana Tourism Authority and the Tourism Ministry ahead of ‘December in GH’ initiative which forms part of the ‘Beyond the Return’ drive by the government.

Mark Okraku Mantey maintained that Covid-19 preventive protocols like washing hands and social distancing alone will not be enough requirements for attending any of the programs, as one must necessarily show their vaccination cards before they are admitted to enter event venues.

Persons above the age of five will be mandated to wear nose masks and only take them off should there be the need for eating or drinking.

Source: adomonline