By Ritah Kemigisa
The Ministry of Health has resolved to send covid19 test results online to people’s phones through Email or WhatsApp to avoid congestion at the Entebbe International Airport.
This comes after yesterday’s condemnation of the delays at the Airport as hundreds of passengers were held for several hours waiting for covid19 test results after government commenced the mandatory testing of all arriving passengers.
Now the health minister Dr Jane Ruth Aceng has appealed to all Ugandans to register and pay online or use mobile money but adds that the cash payments will also be accepted.
“There is a link that has been sent to all websites, please access it and provide your information online, pay online to avoid congestion.”
She has meanwhile dismissed reports that a number of tourists have cancelled travel to Uganda due to the delays at the airport.
“I want to reassure Ugandans that no tourist was caught up in the confusion at the Airport yesterday, Tourists have a separate line. They are always taken away by the tourism board after sample removal and it’s not true that some tourists have cancelled their coming into the country.”
Asked about the time taken for a passenger to get results, Aceng says the turnaround time is between 45 minutes to two hours.
The mandatory testing for all arriving passenger’s is aimed at curbing further importation of deadly variants of the coronavirus and prevent the spread of the disease as the country faces imminent threat of a third wave of the pandemic, according to the Health ministry.
The tests are being carried out at USD 30 down from USD 65 that was earlier charged by private labs.
