Ghana's government said Monday it will fine airlines arriving at the Kotoka International Airport in the capital Accra with passengers who are not fully vaccinated against covid-19.

According to authorities at the country's largest airport, "airlines bringing passengers into Kotoka International Airport who are not fully vaccinated will pay a fine of about €3,099 per passenger."

These are measures that will begin to be applied as of today, Tuesday. However, according to the authorities, failure to comply with these rules may prevent citizens of other nationalities from entering the country.

They will be "returned to the point of embarkation" at a cost to be borne by the airline concerned, the airport explained in the statement quoted by Efe.

The new measures come after Ghana last week began requiring all passengers over the age of 18 to provide proof of full vaccination against the new coronavirus in order to prevent a fourth wave, claiming that a high number of new cases have recently been detected at the airport.

"The current increase in cases, coupled with the detection of the Omicron variant, among international arrivals and the expected increase during the festive season, requires urgent action to prevent a significant increase in covid-19 cases in Ghana," the Ghana Health Service revealed.