Monrovia – Air passengers arriving and departing from the Roberts International Airport will have to bra e for new technical health measures outlined for the resumption of commercial flights.
Last week, President Weah announced that the RIA would be open to commercial flights on June 21st. with the observance of the required health measures.
At the weekend, the government through Information Minister Lenn Eugene Nagbe announced the following measures all travelers are required to adhere to.
Among the Health Measures and Protocols put in place, all passengers (Arriving and departing) will be required to have their temperature taken for symptoms of COVID-19 and register via phones numbers/USSD/Mobile App.
Arriving passengers who have been tested at point of departure must present a valid negative result document on arrival at RIA.
According to the protocol, all arriving passengers who have not been tested at point of departure will be required to take a rapid test and a PCR swab at airport and in the event of a positive rapid test result, the passenger will be placed in the holding center pending the final PCR test result.
Passengers having negative results will be allowed to go home pending final PCR test and there will be continuedsymptom monitoring via USSD and Mobile App.
The new RIA Access Protocol will require all passengers to arrive four hours before check-in time and all passengers must wear a face mask.
Additionally, only ticketed passengers will be allowed entry into the airport and all passengers entering the airport gate will be subject to mandatory screening. “All passengers will be required to wash their hands and passengers will be required to stand in marked spaces within the terminal area,” the government announced at the weekend.
Airport authorities have not released itinerary of flights due in but an SN Brussels flight out of Brussels in due in on Monday night, while two other flights, July 6 and July 13 are on schedule.
Meanwhile, the government admonishes everyone to continue to adhere strictly to all the safety measures intended to halt further spread of the virus in Liberia, including social distancing and regular hand washing. The wearing of face masks in public places remains compulsory. The joint security will continue to enforce these rules. All other protocols that were previously announced not amended by this release remain in force.
The airport reopening comes as Liberia recorded the highest number of COVID-19 cases to be reported in a single day since the deadly contagious disease was first reported in the Western African country on March 16, 2020.
On Saturday, June 27, 2020, the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL) confirmed 45 new COVID-19 cases nationwide, 37 news cases in Monsterrado County alone.
Montserrado is the most populated county in the country.
Including the new cases, the tally of the COVID-19 cases has reached 729 with 34 infected people dead and 291 patients recovered, according to NPHIL.
Liberia’s 60-day lockdown ended on June 21 and, meanwhile, President George Mannah Weah has announced a second phase one-month lockdown through June 30.
New regulations include a State of Emergency from 6PM to 6AM, managed access to markets and mandatory use of face masks, and mandatory provision of sanitizers and hand washing facilities in public.
The pandemic has killed nearly over 412,000 people worldwide, with total infections exceeding 7.25 million, while some 3.39 million people have recovered from the disease, according to figures compiled by US’ Johns Hopkins University.