from DANIEL JONES in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
VICTORIA FALLS, (CAJ News) – THE Zimbabwe government has devised stringent conditions to curb the third wave of the coronavirus.
Only travelers with COVID-19 negative certificates obtained from few selected trusted health facilities will be allowed in and out of the country starting in August.
This comes as the country domesticates the African Union Trusted Travel initiative (AU-TT).
From August 1, passengers intending to undertake international travel are expected to present themselves to selected AUTT accredited laboratories for Polymerase Chain Reaction PCR test.
“The Trusted Travel Platform will be fully available for use from 1st of August 2021,” the Ministry of Health stated.
Authorities are convinced that the sharp rise in Covid-19 cases is partly a result of free movement of people using counterfeit negative PCR test results.
There are now close to 100 000 cumulative cases and more than 3 000 deaths as at Monday July 26.
There are concerns about growing prospects of another wave which authorities say could be worsened by circulation of dangerous new variants from overseas.
“The Ministry of Health is therefore pleased to announce the launch of the Trusted Travel Platform in Zimbabwe. We are confident that this platform will ease travel for both travellers into and out of the country,” the Ministry of Health stated.
The AU, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and other partners such as PanaBios devised the AUTT initiative to support member states harmonise and enhance their current health screening systems.
– CAJ News