ENTEBBE – The first batch of 2,393 Ugandans who have been stranded abroad due to Covid-19 returned home on Tuesday afternoon.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Henry Okello Oryem was at hand to welcome the plane that touched down at Entebbe International Airport with 32 Ugandans who came from Khartoum, Sudan.
The minister revealed that another flight had brought in more Ugandans from Turkey on Monday while another one from Netherlands was expected later on Tuesday evening.
“Starting this week, we expect to receive flights from Southern Africa with about 70 Ugandans, from the UAE approximately 200, from Afghanistan with approximately 108, USA about 134, and about 120 from India,” he said.
“A plan has been made to allow the return of an average of 300 persons every fortnight because our facilities cannot handle such a big number at once, after the 14 days quarantine we let them go and allow another 300 come back by that time the facilities will have been sanitised and safe,” he said.
Mr Oryem said all returnees pay for their transport back home and will be subjected to mandatory testing and quarantine upon arrival.
The acting general aviation security manager Entebbe international airport Mr Emmanuel Balungi said the airport has put in place the Standard Operations Procedures (SOP) to ensure they receive all the returnees without any outbreak at the facility.
“We are going to shift entry operations to the new entry point that has a thermal scan, remodel all the sentries where the screening will be carried out and put glass at our checking and immigration booths to protect our staff among others” he said.