Covid-19: Ethiopia begins use of AU pass for entry and exit

Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health has announced that all travelers exiting, entering or transiting through Ethiopia to all destinations will from June 7 be expected to present a digital negative Covid-19 certificate.

The certificates are to be presented at all ports of entry based on the Africa Union’s Trusted Travel guidelines and the UNDP-sponsored Global Haven Program.

“This is as a result of the continued surge of Covid-19 cases in some parts of the world and the need to strengthen health screening at Ethiopian borders for the long-term biosecurity of the country,” Health Minister Lia Tadesse said.

The ministry also stated that paper certificates will no longer be acceptable from July 1, due to an increase of fake health documents.

The ministry emphasised that all authorized RT PCR Covid-19 testing laboratories have been registered on the African Union TT system.

Airlines have as well been instructed to pre-validate all test results and certificates used for travel purposes before boarding travellers bound for Ethiopia.

Ethiopia has thus far registered 272,246 positive coronavirus cases and 4,185 deaths.

Edited by Olajumoke Adeleke