The Foreign Ministry has announced that people who have been fully vaccinated with vaccines from the authorised European Medicines Agency (EMA) are now eligible to travel from Ghana to France without doing a PRC test.

This, the Ministry has clarified in a statement, is in line with a directive from France.

"The Republic of France has issued the following guidelines for travellers to and from France. Accordingly, fully vaccinated travellers can now travel to France with no other health-related restrictions.

"No PCR Test is required prior to departure or on arrival. All vaccines authorised by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) are accepted: Pfizer (Comirnaty), Moderna, AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria), Johnson & Johnson (Janssen), AstraZeneca (Covishield)," the statement said.

The statement, signed by the Director/Information and Public Affairs Unit, Worwornyo Agyeman, on behalf of the Minister, also indicated that non-vaccinated travellers must have a compelling reason to travel (health, business, or family emergency) and must provide a less than 72 hours negative PCR test.

It further spelt out other requirements needed for eligible travellers, emphasising that vaccine certificates must have QR codes and are considered valid for travel: seven days after the second shot for two-shot vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca (Vaxevria and Covishield)); four weeks after the shot for the one-shot vaccine (Johnson & Johnson); seven days after the shot for vaccines administered to people who have already contracted Covid-19 (Only one dose is necessary).

"Based on proof of this compelling reason, the French Immigration will issue a laisser-passer, and the traveller must pledge to self-isolate for seven days," the statement added.

Meanwhile, President Nana Akufo-Addo, in his speech at the 76th United Nations General Assembly, decried moves by some countries in Europe not to recognise Covishield, the Indian version of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

According to him, “one unfortunate development appears to be the recent measures on entry into some countries in Europe, which suggest that Covishield, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured in India, is not recognised by some countries in Europe.”