The Togolese government decided on Monday 16 May to open its land borders from midnight on Tuesday 17 May. These include the opening of borders to the east with Benin, to the west with Ghana and to the north with Burkina. This follows a two-year closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This was done through a government communiqué co-signed by Ministers Yark Damehame of Security and Civil Protection and Payadowa Boukpessi of Territorial Administration, Decentralisation and Local Government.
“Taking into account the slowdown in the spread of the disease in Covid-19, (…) the land borders are reopened throughout the national territory as of 00:00,” said the Togolese government statement. However, there is a restriction to the opening measure. This is the presentation of a vaccination pass. The communiqué states that “travellers are therefore free to move around, subject to the presentation of proof of vaccination”.
As a reminder, Togo’s land borders have been closed to travellers since 20 March 2020, more than two years ago, when the first cases of Covid-19 were reported in the country.
They were closed at the same time as the air borders. But since August 2021, the latter have been reopened, unlike the land borders, on the pretext that it was necessary to wait to observe the evolution of the pandemic in the country a little more.
Togo has recorded a total of 37,023 confirmed cases of Covid-19 including 273 deaths and 36,731 patients cured since the beginning of the pandemic, according to official figures published on May 16, 2022.
