By Grace Kuria
Tanzania has on Monday issued a COVID-19 travel advisory aimed at controlling the coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement, Tanzania’s Health Permanent Secretary Prof. Abel Makubi said The new measures effective Tuesday May 4, include: all travelers, whether foreigners or returning residents will be required to present a negative COVID-19 test certificate upon arrival.
All travelers, whether foreigners or returning residents arriving from countries with new COVID-19 variants based on WHO daily updates or those who have travelled through those countries in the last 14 days regardless of route taken shall be subjected to rapid test at point of entry followed by 14 days mandatory quarantine at their own cost.
Travelers subjected for mandatory quarantine shall choose a place from the list designated by the Government. Returning residents will be allowed to isolate themselves in their homes.
Those on transit in other countries more than 72 hours will be required to be retested by rapid test upon arrival in Tanzania.
Trucks/vehicles crew members have also been advised to have only 2-3 crew members per vehicle to facilitate smooth border crossing in the region.
Trucks will be decontaminated before it is allowed to continue to its final destination if driver or crew members are suspected to have COVID-19 or test positive for COVID-19.
Driver or crew members will be subjected to enhanced screening at points of entry and may be quarantined or isolated at designated facilities at their own cost in case they are suspected of COVID-19 infection.
All drivers or crew members with negative COVID-19 results may randomly be selected for re-testing upon arrival for quality assurance.
On April 18, Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan announced that she has already formed a COVID-19 committee to counsel her on measures to take as a country to protect Tanzania against the coronavirus pandemic.
