ENTEBBE: The government of Uganda has said that testing laboratories will each be fined $3,000 (about Shs10.5 million) for issuing a fake COVID-19 test to travellers at Entebbe airport.
According to the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA), this is intended to stop the growing vice of fake results, which they say is denting Uganda’s image abroad.
Dr. James Eyul, the head of port health at Entebbe Airport, said the issue of fake results has persisted since October 2020, when Entebbe Airport resumed commercial flights.
“We realised that it is the laboratories and some officials who have access to the results database that are behind the issuance of fake results.” So we must hold those culpable to account, “Eyul said.
Eyul added that it has become a business for unscrupulous individuals in the laboratories to issue forged results for travellers who dodge tests or want to travel despite having tested positive for COVID-19.
Some of the laboratories are not even swabbing travellers because some passengers claim their blood samples, instead of nasal or throat swab samples, were picked at some of the laboratories they visited. Such passengers are usually naive about COVID-19 testing, and laboratories take advantage of them, “Eyul added.
This decision was communicated during a meeting between officials from UCAA, the health ministry, and managers and staff of over 40 laboratories that currently test COVID-19 samples across the country.
The meeting was held on Friday, January 28 at Entebbe International Airport. The new directive will take effect on February 1.
Some of the officials who attended the meeting say it was chaired by Eng. Ayub Sooma, the Director of Airports and Aviation Security at UCAA. Other UCAA officials in attendance included Emmanuel Barungi, the General Manager of Entebbe International Airport, and Kenneth Otim in the public relations department, while the ministry of health officials included Dr. Atek Kagirita, the deputy incident Commander for COVID-19, and head of the Entebbe Airport testing laboratory.
Emmanuel Ainebyoona, the spokesperson at the health ministry, said he is not aware of the fine but said the ministry will be rolling out a new system (Traveller Verification System) to detect forgeries. The system was expected to be rolled out today, Monday, January 31.
According to UCCA figures, an average of 1,300 passengers travel daily through Entebbe International Airport. But an average of 5,412 passengers were travelling daily via Entebbe airport before the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in Uganda.