TRAVELERS FROM UGANDA FACE #COVID19 RED LIST ENTRY BAN AS OF 30TH JUNE 04.00 HRS GMT
(Posted 24th June 2021)
What has been an open secret for the past couple of days has now been officially made a stark reality, as the UK has put Uganda on the COVID19 country red list which will prohibit all travelers from Uganda – apart from British citizens, Irish citizens and UK residents of other nationalities – to enter the United Kingdom, effective 30th of June at 04.00 hrs GMT.
Those permitted to enter must undergo a 10 day quarantine in a government approved facility and have to undergo PCR testing on days 2 and 8.
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/uganda
ATCNews has received a copy of a letter spelling out the details of the latest change in health and safety regulations now published by UK authorities at a time when the Ugandan government also suspended domestic tourism, effectively ripping the carpet from underneath the industry once again.
Now on the 6th day of a nationwide lockdown of 42 days, will foreign tourists still be permitted to enter the country and go on a safari, but the kind of restrictions placed on them which will no doubt further decimate arrivals to the East African country and reverse the slow growth the sector has seen in recent months.
Uganda has seen a massive rise in COVID19 cases over the past weeks, largely attributed to broad complacency and and almost total lack of enforcement of existing health and safety regulations in regard to mask wearing and physical distancing.
The arrival of the so-called Delta variant of the virus also played a major role in this development, despite travel from India having been banned already for several weeks.
Usually reliable sources have also indicated to ATCNews that the EU and its member states are preparing to institute similar measures like the UK did earlier today for travel from Uganda, which may also come into effect before the end of the month of June.
Efforts to gauge the impact of these measures on airline traffic – several airlines have in recent weeks been increasing their frequencies to Entebbe – are ongoing but given the time of day will not be available for some time, more so as Friday 25th of June has been declared a public holiday in Uganda.
Domestic Tourism in Uganda Suspended
Mr. Winston Katushabe, the Commissioner for Transport Safety and Regulations at Uganda’s Ministry of Works and Transport, made the announcements on the suspension of domestic tourism also earlier today when he said: ‘Domestic tourism is suspended for the lockdown period. Only registered and licensed tourist vehicles will be allowed to move and they will move directly to their destinations and designated places. The driver/guide will have a negative PCR test taken within 48 hours. Breach of any … guidelines will lead to cancellation of the sticker, the sticker will be cancelled and [the] company suspended.‘
ATCNews will continue to monitor developments about further travel restrictions placed on Ugandans and report accordingly as and when additional information becomes available.
