Government releases plan to return Ugandans stranded abroad over Coronavirus

Government has said only Ugandans who test negative for Coronavirus will be flown back during evacuation.

Cabinet recently approved the return of over 2400 Ugandans stranded in 66 countries abroad amid the Coronavirus at their own cost.

On Tuesday, the Foreign Affairs Minister, Sam Kutesa presented a statement to parliament about preparations to fly back stranded Ugandans.

“The numbers of our stranded citizens who intend to return home are fairly manageable (2,400) although they are spread across many countries (66). In arranging for our citizens to return, there is need to ensure both the personal safety of the returnees as well as that of the communities they are coming to join,”Kutesa told parliament.

“The travellers will be required to provide proof of negative Covid-19 test results before they embark on their journey. This will help to avoid infecting each other while in transit and on the plane.”

The Foreign Affairs Minister explained that each country has instated specific testing requirement before international travel and that Ugandans stranded abroad will also be subjected to those requirements.

Kutesa cited the UK where a passenger must test for Covid-19 at least 10 days before they can travel, whereas in the UAE, it is done six days before the travel.

“As for those who test positive to Covid-19, they will first have to undergo treatment in their present locations before they can travel back to Uganda at a later date. On arrival in Uganda, the returnees will again be tested for Covid-19 and then taken into mandatory quarantine for a minimum of 14 days in a government designated facility,” he said.

Kutesa revealed that the Ministry of Health will ensure that by the time the returnees are released into the communities, they will have been certified as healthy.

Preps

The Minister told parliament that the first phase of those to be flown back will be Ugandans who are stranded in distant places such as Europe, America, West Africa, Eastern Asia and the Middle East.

“The reason for this being that they are more likely to be in dire need of help. Besides, many of them already have air tickets which they were travelling on before they were stopped and would simply need to revalidate those tickets.”

Minister Kutesa said government will be cognizant of the capacity of the country’s health authorities to safely manage the large numbers involved.

He noted that the next phase would be for Ugandans living in neighbouring countries who are most likely to come by car or on foot through the country’s borders.

“By the time we embark on this next phase, the necessary structures and safeguards will have been set up at the border crossings.”

Airlines contacted

The Foreign Affairs minister told parliament that government has held discussions with some of the airlines that are still operating routes around the world including Ethiopian Airlines to see how to pick stranded Ugandans.

“My Ministry has already held discussions with some of the airlines such as Ethiopian Airlines, regarding the modalities by which they can pick our people from the different locations and bring them to a more central place such as Addis Ababa from where we can further arrange for special flights to bring them home,”Kutesa said.

He noted that discussions have also been held with the United Nations which still operates humanitarian  flights across Africa to consider placing some of the stranded Ugandans on the flights that transit through Entebbe or as they bring UN personnel.

Government has also contacted the World Food Programme which will also be operating some humanitarian passenger flights in the region that the country can take advantage of to return some of the country’s stranded citizens.

“We have additionally met with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) who have agreed to consider assisting particularly our migrant workers who are stranded in the Middle East to return home. We are awaiting confirmation of their offer from their regional offices.”

The Foreign Affairs Ministry has also engaged its counterparts in the United Arab Emirates about assisting Ugandan migrant workers who have lost their jobs due to the economic effects of Covid-19 and would wish to return home.

“In this regard, the UAE has agreed to arrange for at least three flights to bring these Ugandans home and as soon as our Ministry of Health is ready to receive them, this offer will be utilized.”

 

https://nilepost.co.ug/2020/06/01/plan-to-fly-back-ugandans-stranded-in-qatar-in-june-not-yet-confirmed-embassy/