Foreigners to pay for Covid-19 tests - govt
A doctor takes samples from some street children who are living at Nakivubo Blue Primary School. PHOTO | ABUBAKER LUBOWA
What you need to know:
- Testing at a cost. In Kenya, public transport operators are required to take tests which they pay for and according to Mr Ronald Onyango, a Kenyan truck driver, they pay KShs1,000 (about Shs37,000) for a single test.
All foreigners seeking to enter the country without Covid-19 certificates will be required to pay for their testing, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr Diana Atwine, has said.
The decision comes as the government moves to mitigate the financial challenges resulting from managing the disease that has become a global pandemic.
The government has been meeting the costs of procuring testing kits and reagents, and taking samples.
This followed a directive by President Museveni to have all truck drivers tested at the country’s major borders entry points of Busia, Malaba, Mutukula and Elegu.
Speaking to Covid-19 taskforce response teams at Busia, Malaba and Lwakhakha borders recently, Dr Atwine said the cost of testing “was huge”.
“We have been offering free Covid-19 tests to all people, including foreigners arriving in the country, but this is ‘not sustainable’ as it is taking a toll on the country’s financial resources,” she said.
She was, however, noncommittal on how much will be charged and who will collect the money on behalf of the government, but was certain the government will continue offering free Covid-19 tests to all Ugandans.
