No Mandatory COVID Testing at the airport upon arrival

The Ugandan government will no longer conduct COVID 19 tests for passengers travelling into the country through the Entebbe International Airport, the country’s ministry of health has said.

The director-general of health services, Henry Mwebesa, in a statement issued on Wednesday, said the decision was made following a decrease in COVID-19 infections globally.

Mr Mwebesa said the government noticed a few new cases were being recorded at the airport and that the threat of new coronavirus variants and community transmissions has reduced.

“The Ministry of Health would like to inform the public that the mandatory COVID-19 testing of all incoming travellers at Entebbe International Airport upon arrival has been stopped with effect from today, 16 February 2022,” the statement published on the ministry’s website reads.

“The suspension of mandatory testing is informed by the decline in positive cases identified at the airport and reduction in the global threat of new Variants of Concern (VoC) and therefore reduced risk of importation of VoC that will increase community transmission.”

Entebbe international airport is the biggest airport in Uganda.

The Uganda government had imposed mandatory testing at the airport in September 2021 following the detection of more variants of Omicron imported from neighbouring countries in travellers who arrived via the airport.

Before the restrictions, incoming travellers were only required to show a valid negative PCR certificate obtained from an accredited laboratory in their countries of origin.

Despite the latest development, the government said travellers are still required to be tested 72 hours before arrival or departure from the airport.