The Managing Director of the Ghana Airports Company Limited has disclosed that the $150 price for the Covid-19 test at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) was arrived at after stringent negotiations with service providers.

According to Yaw Kwakwa, the price was approved after several considerations.

“The original price quotation from the service provider started from $158 and he gave information to support that the test will cost $158 and on top of that, we could add anything that we wanted to add,” he said.

His statement follows massive backlash and the subsequent presentation of a petition by a cross-section of Ghanaians for the government to reconsider the amount.

Explaining why government is not considering an alternative Covid-19 test provider although the amount may be cheaper, Mr Kwakwa said it was about quality and ensuring the safety of the travellers and Ghanaians at large.

He also touched on the importance placed on differentiating Ghana from the rest of Africa with regards to airport safety.

“As you may know, Kotoka International Airport is ranked the best airport in Africa.

“So we wanted to take advantage of this process to separate ourselves from the airports in Africa, especially in West Africa and we want to occupy and extend this position,” he said

Meanwhile, the country has recorded some six new cases of the coronavirus since KIA was reopened on September 1.

Deputy Minister of Health, Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye who made the revelation on JoyNews’ The Lockdown, said the first case was recorded on Friday, with two others on Saturday and the other three on Sunday.

According to Dr. Oko-Boye, these individuals had reported with a negative PCR test from their countries of origin.

He stated that these cases were detected because of the $150 Covid-19 test government insisted on for travellers.