Travelers are up in arms against the poor standards at the COVID-19 testing facilities at Entebbe International Airport, saying they could instead turn out as super spreaders of the virus.
Government last week undertook mandatory testing of all incoming passengers at Entebbe International Airport and all ports of entry to prevent a third wave of COVID-19 in Uganda.
All arriving passengers (including children above 6 years) irrespective of vaccination status or country of origin, are required to undertake a mandatory COVID-19 PCR test on arrival at the Airport.
This is in addition to the negative PCR test certificate required to have been obtained within 72 hours prior to departure from the country of origin.
However, the manner in which the testing process is being conducted has caused uproar. There are fears the chaos at the airport could scare away potential tourists. Uganda earns close to $2bn in tourism revenues annually.
Total Mess
On arrival at the airport, travelers go through the usual immigration procedures.
From the customs area, passengers exit the terminal to an arranged passenger holding area to wait for their PCR test results.
The Civil Aviation Authority says results are supposed to be availed to travelers after about two hours and thirty minutes or less.
However, some passengers have had to wait for over three hours to get their results.
These measures are enforced by military police personnel.
“Do I have to go through this?” a Canadian national who was fully vaccinated against COVID-19 asked the military police on Monday evening.
“Yes, it’s mandatory testing whether you are vaccinated or not,” the military personnel responded.
One pays $30 to Post Bank for a PCR test.
Interestingly, no control numbers are issued after testing.
Covid testing on arrival #Uganda flops and successes. A thread. Advance communication – a flop. As usual, passengers go through confusion with each new rule at Entebbe. However, people on the ground are doing their best to help.
— Nada Andersen (@NadaAndersen) October 27, 2021
Crowding
Passengers have to wait in the holding area for their names to be announced on a microphone.
The passengers go towards the source of noise hence gathering and crowding.
Display monitors are strategically placed in the holding area but they are not being used to announce readiness of results.
“Meanwhile the holding area is full of screens, I can count at least six in front of me. Is it difficult to type the names of people whose results are out, and run them on the screens?” wondered Nada Andersen who traveled via Entebbe airport this week.
“Another flop,” she added.
“If we didn’t pick Covid thus far, our chances are going up with every minute we spend surrounded by the people not following the SOPs at all. I can’t take photos on the sly but trust me, I see at least 20 people without masks and about the same number of masked chins,” said Andersen.
She further said the waiting time and choice of test was a flop.
“Considering all passengers come with fresh PCR tests anyway, a rapid antigen test and 15 minutes waiting time could be a friendlier option. Especially if we really want tourists in Uganda,” said Andersen.
In Tanzania, travelers are subjected to rapid antigen tests after which they receive their results in less than 20 minutes.
The Ministry of Health spokesperson Emmanuel Ainebyoona said they were working around the clock to address the delays in the testing processes at the Entebbe International Airport.
“The mandatory COVID-19 testing for all in-coming travelers started today morning. We welcome all the feedback and challenges are being fixed,” he added.
