A few days after Tanzania president John Magufuli assured the nation on the state of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country, the ministry of health provided travel advisory for all travellers going and coming out of Tanzania, this being an initial step towards reopening other spheres of the economy particularly the travel and tourism industry.
According to the statement signed by the health minister Ummy Mwalimu, on April 4, 2020, the government of Tanzania placed additional measures to limit the spread of the virus, hence—following the decreased trend of the admitted cases of the COVID-19 in Tanzania, the travel advisory was reviewed and accommodate various measures related to international travellers.
Air travel measures
The statement stressed that “all travellers whether foreigners or returning residents entering or leaving the country will be subjected to enhanced screening for COVID-19 infection, “
The statement also highlighted that “there will be no 14 days mandatory quarantine upon arrival “which is the same argument made by president Magufuli on Sunday.
Travellers will be advised to heed to infection prevention measures such as hand hygiene, wearing masks and keeping physical distancing but also submit their traveller’s surveillance forms, to port health authorities—which the ministry stressed they ought to fill truthfully.
However, the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) has also reopened the sky. “the restriction to all commercial PAX flights OPS into and out of the united republic of Tanzania has been lifted” the aviation authority statement read in part.
In addition to that context, the statement included submission of health declaration documents from all pilots/captains/drivers commanding conveyance.
As Tanzania’s tourism totalled around $2.43 billion in 2018 and the country anticipates to attracts more attention to it, the health ministry advisory also indicated that “all arriving/departing conveyances must provide advance passenger information to allow the points of entry authorities to scrutinize the manifest for possible high-risk passengers.
In addition, the minister for works, transport and communication Isack Kamwelwe said commercial flights, diplomatic flights, aircraft in emergency and operations related to humanitarian aid, medical and relief would be allowed into Tanzania without restrictions, according to information from The Citizen.
Measures for goods truck drivers
The ministry of health also indicated that trucks carrying goods or services will be operating under only 2 to 3 crew members per vehicle to facilitate “smooth border crossing in the region, and will be decontaminated if crew members are suspected to have COVID-19”.
To protect and sustain the billion-dollar cargo transit industry, the travel advisory highlighted that “ crew members will be subjected to enhanced screening at points of entry and may be quarantined or isolated at designated facilities in case they are suspected of COVID-19 infection”
Hence, the advisory stressed that in case crews are quarantined there will be necessary arrangements to ensure goods are delivered to the final-intended destination.
