Togo to subject travelers from several countries to 3 day-quarantine

By Aurore Bonny

DOUALA, Cameroon (AA) - All passengers coming from Brazil, South Africa, India, the UK, Russia, Portugal, and Tunisia will have to systematically undergo a controlled quarantine on arrival in Togo from Aug. 31, the Togolese airport office announced on Tuesday.

The quarantine will last 72 hours for each passenger, according to a tweet by the Gnassingbe Eyadema International Airport (AIGE) in the Togolese capital Lome.

The announcement came in response to an official request by the country's health minister, Mustapha Mijiyawa, on Monday.

It came "due to reports of variant coronavirus with high virulence and spread," as stated by the local authority in its official letter signed Monday and relayed by the AIGE on Tuesday.

"Whatever the test result" of passengers from other countries indicates, they will be subject to quarantine, according to the minister.

As of Aug. 30, Togo has recorded 4,353 active cases out of a total of more than 21,000 confirmed COVID-19 infections, along with 185 deaths, with 80 newly recorded cases and five fatalities on Monday.

This represents "40.92 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over the past 14 days," according to official figures by the West African country with a population of about 8 million.