MUST BE VACCINATED, MUST HAVE PCR TEST BEFORE DEPARTURE AND NOW MUST HAVE PCR TEST ON ARRIVAL
(Posted 27th November 2021)
While Kenya has lifted the night time curfew and scrapped PCR tests before departure from the country – passengers are now liable to ensure they meet COVID19 regulations in their country of destination and/or transit – has Uganda just made it yet more difficult again for tourists and business visitors to enter the country.
Passengers arriving at Entebbe International Airport must now, in addition to such requirements as PCR test before boarding their flight to Uganda and show of vaccination status on arrival also undergo an additional test at a cost of US Dollars 30 per person, besides the inevitable detainment at the airport under circumstances – as images from social media sites suggest – where the required distancing is nowhere near possible.
How such decisions will impact tourism and trade visitor arrivals to Uganda remains to be seen but safari operators and hotel / lodge operators have already voiced both opposition to the scheme and serious concerns about possible cancellations from travelers not willing to subject themselves to such measures and inconveniences, especially after long flights from other continents.
Said one regular commentator for ATCNews: ‘… they should just lock the airport again, no one in and no one out … because those who have imposed such drastic measures on us all forget one thing, the rise of the pandemic in Uganda is bred from within and travelers from overseas who have to undergo PCR testing before their flight to Entebbe and who are nowadays largely vaccinated, would be the minutest percentage of virus spreaders. Of course no such data are given to us, all kept under a shroud of secrecy where those in power once again do their own things with no regard for the tourism industry. Shame on them for messing up our sector!‘
