The Minister of Health Dr. Ruth Aceng has told parliament that effective 05 November 2021, arriving passengers at Entebbe International Airport will be allowed to wait and receive their Covid -19 test results while at home following public outcry about the long queues and delays in clearance of travelers.
“Travelers will now be allowed to go home and self-isolate after sample collection until they receive their results,” the Minister told Members of Parliament .
In light of the global challenges occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic and the risk of importing new variants from high-risk countries, the government of Uganda is undertaking mandatory testing of all incoming passengers at Entebbe International Airport in order to reduce on the risk of further spread of the virus.
“Before departure from the country of origin to Entebbe International Airport, passengers are advised to pay an online fee of 30 US Dollars for a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test to be conducted on arrival at the airport (https://covidpay.postbank.co.ug). For those unable to pay online, there are other payment options on arrival detailed in 3 (below). In addition passengers are required to fill in an online health form accessed on the link https://arrivals.healthdesk.go.ug,” according to a statement by Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA).
All passengers will be required to go through the recommended Port health procedure of identifying body temperature, symptoms and thereafter directed to a team of laboratory specialists to take a COVID-19 swab for testing. The arrival test only applies to those entering the country (transit passengers are exempted).
After taking their swab, passengers will be directed back to the terminal to go through the immigration process. From the arrival immigration counters, passengers will proceed to the conveyor belts to pick their respective baggage and then go through customs clearance processes, in case of any taxable items.
“From the customs area, passengers will exit the terminal to an arranged passenger holding area to wait for their PCR test results, which shall be availed to them after about two hours and thirty minutes or less,” CAA stated .
