Passengers travelling to Uganda will now have to pay $30 for a mandatory Covid-19 test as the landlocked country tightens containment measures to curb a possible third wave.
Uganda’s authorities say a Notice to Airmen (Notam) communicating the details of the mandatory testing requirements to all airlines is to be immediately processed and issued.
This is a departure from the previous norm where Kampala only tested citizens arriving from high-risk countries.
The move will come as a blow to regional carriers including Kenya Airways, which has previously said the containment measures issued by some of the countries have a negative impact on demand.
A statement from the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority said “the measure is intended to curb further importation of the deadly variants of the coronavirus into the country. It is also to abet the further spread of the disease and guard against the third wave,”
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.