Written by Tonny Abet
All inbound and outbound travellers to Uganda will have to present digitally verified proof of a negative Covid-19 test if the government accepts a new proposal from the African Union.
The African Union and Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) have come up with Trusted Traveller (TT) initiative, an online system designed to authenticate and verify travellers' Covid-19 certificates to curb the cross-border spread of Covid-19 infection in the continent.
As of Wednesday, a total of 3,308,919 cases and 80,939 Covid-19 deaths had been reported in the continent, according to Africa CDC.
Asked on Tuesday by this reporter about Uganda’s position, Dr Diana Atwine, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Health said their teams are still discussing and that a clear position will be communicated.
“They [African Union] presented the proposal and our teams are reviewing. It is after the reviewing process is completed that I shall know [whether Uganda will adopt it],” Dr Atwine said.
To adopt the initiative, the Ministry will have to set specific restrictions and test requirements in the online system, register and monitor testing laboratories, according to information from the website of the Africa CDC.
Africa CDC said laboratories will have to issue Covid-19 certificates with Trusted Travel codes that can be readily verified by airlines and border point health authorities to ensure the integrity of presented certificates.
Currently, some Covid-19 test results are presented on printed paper and so are susceptible to forgery. Some countries such as Kenya already adopted the technology, according to last week's report by the Daily Nation.
In Uganda, the cumulative confirmed cases stood at 38,534 and deaths at 305 as of Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Health statistics.
How it works
“Passenger obtains this information and goes to a laboratory to get tested according to the requirements laid out by the Public Health Authority [of the country],” the information on the Afric CDC website reads.
It adds: “The laboratory operator generates special seals for digital test results that are verifiable through the Trusted Travel portal. The passenger can go to the airlines’ website to validate the test result for a clearance code or the passenger can get to the airport and validate the test result code with the help of the Airline Agent to obtain the clearance code just ahead of travel.”
Upon arrival in the destination country, the port official verifies the clearance code and then allows the passenger or traveller through, according to the agency.