Cairo - New procedures issued to control spread of mutant coronavirus variants.
Egypt’s health ministry has issued new regulations for people arriving in the country who are vaccinated against Covid-19.
In a notice issued on Wednesday, the Ministry of Health said that arrivals with vaccination certificates from countries impacted by mutated strains of the coronavirus must follow a new set of procedures on entry into Egypt.
The new procedures are as follows:
- Passengers who have been in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Brazil, or Latin America 14 days prior to their arrival in Egypt will have their vaccination certificates reviewed.
- Certificates must be issued by approved laboratories in their origin countries and should not be modified in any way. Valid certificates must also bear a QR code for verification purposes.
- Passengers who have been to countries impacted by mutant strains of the virus must undergo a rapid PCR test on arrival in Egypt. If they test positive for Covid-19 they will be transferred to a medical facility as a precaution.
- All other passengers arriving in Egypt from countries unaffected by mutated strains will still need to present an unmodified vaccination certificate bearing a QR code issued by an approved lab. Egypt permits entry to vaccinated travelers who have received their second dose of the jab at least 14 days prior to travel.
- Any travelers who do not possess a vaccination certificate must submit a negative PCR result on arrival.
Egypt accepts all vaccines that are approved by the World Health Organization and the Egyptian Medicines Authority.
Approved vaccines include Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Sinopharm, Sinovac and Sputnik.
Passengers must have had their second doses of a vaccine 14 days before arrival in Egypt or 14 days after their first dose of the Johnson & Johnson single-shot vaccine.