Clean up Covid-19 test mess at Entebbe airport
A crosssection of Ugandans on social media on Thursday expressed anger over the shabby way in which Covid-19 tests for people coming into the country through Entebbe International Airport were being conducted. A screenshot of a post by a one Philippe Breul was widely shared. His message: "Don't come to Uganda by airport. People waiting all night to receive their Covid test results at the airport."
By the end of the day, there were several emergency meetings held between officials from the Ministry of Health, Civil Aviation Authority, National Information Technology Authority-Uganda (NITA-U), and the Uganda Tourism Board.
This crisis prompted an impromptu visit to the airport by senior government officials led by Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja and Health minister Jane Ruth Aceng, among others. By the end of the day, according to the Health minister, a solution had been arrived at. Dr Aceng said one of the major challenges was the time to dispatch results to incoming travellers which she said had been resolved by using an online dispatch system via email or WhatsApp.
This solution had been arrived at in a matter of hours. But the beating that the country's image has been taking will take months to repair. Last month, tour operators appealed to government to clean up the Covid-19 testing mess at Entebbe airport, saying it was costing the country 90 percent of tourist booking cancellations.
Private labs were charging travellers up to $65 (about Shs230,000) for Covid-19 tests. In response, government suspended mandatory tests, except for those from 11 high-risk countries.
After commissioning the government testing laboratories at Entebbe airport last week, President Museveni asked the authorities to resume mandatory tests with immediate effect. The Covid-19 test would come down to $30 (about Shs106,000). But government takeover of the testing process at the airport has not made matters any better.
As we try to protect the country from a possible third wave by identifying and isolating Covid-19 positive travellers, we need to make the process as quick and as comfortable as possible. A traveller does not have to wait at the airport for up to eight hours to get their results back.
As we talk about economic recovery, the Christmas season is here and we would want as many Ugandans abroad to come back and spend the festive season with their families. Every shilling they spend here is a win for everyone.
This is not to mention tourism, the top foreign exchange earner. We need to make it easy for tourists to travel to Uganda. Some countries have, for example, exempted fully vaccinated people who tested negative 72 hours prior to travelling from the tedious process of testing. We need to copy their best practises, otherwise, we risk being isolated.
