In his 20th speech on COVID-19 Sunday evening, President Yoweri Museveni said Entebbe airport will re-open to tourists and Ugandans coming in as government relaxes lockdown measures that had been put in place to stem the spread of Coronavirus. Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCCA) spokesperson Vianney Luggya says everything is ready for the airport to re-open. He, however, adds that there are vital things that Ugandans or anyone intending to use the airport must know. Here below is the list of those things:
Commercial passenger operations resume on October 1, 2020
“The resumption of commercial passenger flights is in phases. The first phase covers the first three months where there will be fewer flights (on average one flight per airline, per day). The flights will be increased in the second phase (January to June) before the airport eventually reverts to the normal scheduling of flights,” Luggya says.
Various measures have been put in place, including Standard Operationg Procedures, such as the following;
The terminal floor has been marked for observance of social distancing, lounge seats have also been marked to create some space between seats, and automated sanitizers installed in various strategic points within the terminal building.
Glass shields have been erected at Immigration Counters and Check-in counters to avoid direct interface between the airport staff and passengers.
Partitions in the boarding lounges are currently being removed to create more open space.
Health screening for temperature is enforced at all points of entry to the airport and terminal building using hand held Temperature Guns and the Thermoscanners that can detect temperature of anyone within 30 meters of its radius.
To avoid the rush at the last hour, Luggya advises travelers to report atleast 4 hours before departure, “Departing passengers will be encouraged to report to the airport 4 hours prior to their flight departure time to cater for additional time that will be spent going through the added Health screening procedures on top of all the other existing security regulations,” he says.
Wearing of masks is mandatory within the Airport’s terminal building.
Frequently touched surfaces are to be regularly disinfected, but passengers will also be reminded to avoid unnecessary touching of surfaces, and to sanitise after touching documents or surfaces.
Aircraft will also be disinfected on landing after passengers have disembarked before others board.
Most importantly, “All arriving passengers shall possess authentic and valid COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test certificate issued within 72 hours before boarding aircraft in-bound to Uganda,” Luggya notes.
Other key issues from President’s speech
Apart from the re-opening of the airport, there were other key issues from the President’s address on COVID-19 as government gradually re-opens the economy. These included;
1. Schools will re-open on October 15th for the candidate classes of P-7, S-4, S-6, finalists in tertiary colleges and finalists in universities.
2. The International Airport and land borders will now be opened for tourists, coming in and going out, provided they tested negative 72 hours before arrival in Uganda and provided the tour operators ensure that the tourists do not mix with the Ugandans.
Returning Ugandans, who have negative PCR results, will be allowed to go home. The Ministry of Health will only get their addresses for follow up.
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4. Curfew, from 9pm to 6am, will be maintained; but for the boda bodas, their movements must always end at 6pm.
5. Places of worship, should open with the following guidelines:
a. Individual prayers or confessions with priests or counseling with the necessary SOPs.
b. Prayers and fellowships whose numbers do not exceed 70 and by observing all the other SOPs.
5 (c) Night prayers and transnights are not allowed.
d. The regular large gatherings of prayers and preachings of Sundays and Fridays will be considered at a later stage but the rule of the number of 70 and not more can be used on the Fridays and Sundays.
6. Open air activities of sports will re-open provided there are no spectators and the players are tested for Covid-19, 72 hours before. This test will expire in 14 days. Hence, the Sportsmen will have to repeat the test every fortnight.
-With tournaments, teams should be quarantined for the whole season of the competition.
– Indoor sports activities, including gyms, remain closed.
7. Casinos, gaming centres and cinemas remain closed.
8. Bars shall remain closed.
9. Hotels will continue operating following the SOPs agreed with the Ministry of Health.
10. Restaurants should continue to emphasize the takeaways. Indoor restaurant services should be minimized and follow the SOPs.
11. Mobile Markets, monthly cattle auction and produce markets, should remain closed as the Ministry of Health continues to develop SOPs.
12. Mass gatherings are still prohibited.
13. The Bamasaaba engaged in Imbalu have SOPs from the Ministry of Health that were agreed with the Cultural Institution. There should be no processions dancing Kadodi – that is dangerous congregating.
