Covid-19: US places Ghana as a high risk country to travel to

The US government through the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has placed Ghana as a very high level of COVID19.

It has urged its citizens to suspend travels to Ghana.

The CDC has a five-level rank that categorises countries based on the level and risk of infections.

On the CDC’s website, it ranks countries from Level Unknown, Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, to Level 4. The level Unknown is a level that cannot be categorised because such countries do not fall under any of the other levels based on the risk assessment.

Level 1 is the group of countries with low risk of infections. Level 2 is the Moderate level. Meaning countries in this category have a very moderate risk of infections.

Level 3 is the high-risk countries and Level 4 is the Very High-risk countries.

The CDC uses two criteria to determine the level of risk of a country and issues a COVID19 travel health notice. The two criteria are primary and secondary criteria.

The primary criteria consider travelling destinations with populations over 200,000. Then the incidence rate i.e cumulative new cases per 100,000 people over the past 28 days is considered.

Again, the new case trajectory (are new cases over the past 28 days increasing, decreasing, or stable?) is considered.

If at the end of these considerations, a country for the past 28 days has an incidence rate (cases per 100,000 people over past 28 days) of more than 100 then it is categorised as a very high-risk country (Level 4) to travel to.

If the incidence rate is between 51-100 then it falls under Level 3 (High), 5-50 incidence rate falls under Level 2 (Moderate) and less than 5 incidence rate is Level 1 (Low).

The secondary criteria “uses hospitalization rates and cumulative testing positivity rate as secondary criteria to validate the primary criteria. Both primary and secondary criteria are measured over 28 days. Secondary criteria data are obtained from official sources, such as the ministry of health websites. CDC reviews secondary criteria for all destinations, regardless of population size”.

The CDC through its statement has outlined the following key information to its citizens on travelling to Ghana.

Key information for travellers to Ghana:

Travellers should avoid all travel to Ghana.
Travel may increase your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19.
If you must travel:
Before you travel, get tested with a viral test 1–3 days before your trip. Do not travel if you are waiting for test results, test positive, or are sick. Follow all entry requirements for your destination and provide any required or requested health information.
During travel, wear a mask, stay at least 6 feet from people who are not travelling with you, wash your hands often or use hand sanitizer, and watch your health for signs of illness.
Before travelling back to the United States, get tested with a viral test 1–3 days before travel. Follow all destination and airline recommendations or requirements.
After you travel, get tested 3–5 days after travel AND stay home for 7 days after travel.
If you don’t get tested, it’s safest to stay home for 10 days.
If you had a known exposure to COVID-19 while travelling, delay travel, quarantine from other people, get tested, and monitor your health.