Is it safe to travel to Uganda now? Get to know all the COVID-19 Standard Operating Procedures at Entebbe International Airport before you can book your Uganda safari trip?
If you are planning to travel to Uganda through Entebbe International Airport you will sure be impressed by the country’s efficiency to stop the cross border spread of COVID-19.
Effective 3rd July 2021 all travelers on arrival at Entebbe Airport are required to present their Passport, Yellow Fever certificate and a negative COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test certificate carried out within 72 hours from the time of sample collection (an antigen is not sufficient). Your body temperature is automatically taken by a contactless IPad-type screen and should NOT be above 37.5°C (99.5°F), should not have a persistent cough, difficulty in breathing or other flu-like symptoms.
For those planning to travel to Uganda presenting with COVID-19 signs and symptoms or other infectious disease will be subjected to secondary screening and will be taken for further management. If found to have an infectious disease, they will be taken for further management at the infectious disease hospital; And for travelers without a negative COVID-19 PCR test certificate undertaken within 72 hours from the time of sample collection will not be allowed into Uganda;
It should be noted that travelers who have had COVID-19 vaccination and hold a certificate must still present a negative COVID-19 PCR test certificate within 72 hours from the time of sample collection to boarding aircraft and those without it will have to undergo the test at their own cost of $65 – Entebbe Airport arrange the (complimentary) transport to the test site and the test process usually takes two to four hours before you can embark on your journey to the pearl of Africa. All this is done as precaution because the vaccine is not 100% protective, and it also takes several days/weeks to begin protection;
When you have everything in order, it should take you a minimum of 15 minutes from entering the airport terminal building to exiting immigration.
The airport management has put in place additional measures to cab the spread of COVID-19 like categorizing different travelers’ country of origin to prevent new COVID variants from entering Uganda.
Category 1- India (only returning Ugandans holding Ugandan passports). Non-Ugandans from category 1 will be allowed in if they will have spent 28 days in a quarantine center in a category 3 country. On arrival in Uganda, they will be subjected to a PCR test at their own cost.
Category 2- United States of America, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey, South Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and South Sudan.
Category 3 – All countries not in Categories 1 & 2. These will not be subject to PCR test.
ii. Individuals from Category 2 countries who have received full COVID-19 vaccination and have no signs of COVID-19 will be exempted from the PCR tests.
Also to note is that these measures are subjected to regular changes depending on how different countries are handling or responding the pandemic.
Tree Climbing lions in Ishasha sector, Queen Elizabeth national park
The Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s) at Entebbe International Airport are clear and every passenger and staff at the airport must follow the set protocols (COVID-19 SOPs) throughout to show the country’s resilience to recover from the economic breakdown considering over 600,000 Ugandans that rely directly or indirectly on tourism and have been absolutely devastated by the pandemic.
