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Home East Africa Uganda imposes $30 mandatory Covid test for air travellers

Uganda imposes $30 mandatory Covid test for air travellers

by Editor lll
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By Jacob Kubeka –

Passengers traveling to Uganda will now be charged $30 for a required Covid-19 test as the landlocked country tightens containment efforts in preparation for a potential third wave.

According to Ugandan authorities, a Notice to Airmen (Notam) detailing the necessary testing requirements would be finalized and issued as soon as possible.

This is a change from the previous practice, in which Kampala only checked visitors from high-risk countries.

The action will be a setback for regional carriers such as Kenya Airways, which has already stated that demand is being harmed by containment restrictions imposed by some governments.

“The measure is intended to curb further importation of the deadly variants of the coronavirus into the country. It is also to abet further spread of the disease and guard against the third wave,” said a statement from the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority.

The Ministry of Health in Uganda has set up the testing laboratories at the airport and trained laboratory technicians, data entrants and all the other port-health staff to manage the process.

“The turnaround time for the mandatory Covid-19 test results will be reduced from four hours to two hours and fifteen minutes. Five PCR test machines with a capacity to test 300 samples per hour are in place at Entebbe. The facility has the capacity to test 3,600 passengers in 12 hours and 7,200 passengers in 24 hours,” said the agency.

The passengers will also be required to present a negative PCR test done not more than 72 hours prior to travel.

The new directive comes as a blow to the airlines that are already struggling with the effects of Covid-19, which has seen carriers such as Kenya Airways cut their frequencies to Uganda.

KQ in July cut the number of flights to Uganda from 12 a week to nine citing low loads on the route as passengers kept off.

Uganda is one of the key routes for Kenya Airways with the most frequencies within the region with low demand on the destination set to impact the carrier’s earnings.

Culled from: theeastafrican.co.ke

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