Why Kenya now requires negative Covid-19 certificate for entry, exit

More than 150 tourists from Germany on board Eurowings Discovery Charter Flight of Air Lufthansa arrive at the Moi International Airport in Mombasa.

Photo credit: Kevin Odit I Nation Media Group.

Tourists will now need a negative Covid-19 PCR certificate to enter and leave Kenya, the government has announced.

Previously, they only needed a negative PCR certificate obtained no more than 96 hours before their arrival.

The rule is included in revised guidelines announced by the Ministry of Tourism to combat the deadly Delta variant.

Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala issued the revised guidelines on August 3 to combat Covid-19 in the hospitality industry.

Even after being vaccinated, he said, visitors including tourists must possess a negative PCR certificate to enter and depart Kenya.

“I know people are saying, ‘We have a double vaccine, then why should we do the PCR test?’ But according to the experts, irrespective of your double vaccine, the Delta variant is more dangerous,” he said.

Speaking to reporters in Nairobi, Mr Balala explained that the PCR test will ensure travellers do not bring in the virus or take it out of the country.  

He noted that countries that have vaccinated their people will recover faster, urging industry players to support vaccinations.

Industry players, led by the Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers Coast executive Sam Ikwaye, lauded Mr Balala’s move, saying it will reassure foreign tourists and Kenyans of their safety.

“Those are international standards that are being applied by many countries. But we must ensure we have a provision that is accessible,” Dr Ikwaye said.

“It should also be affordably available. We like the pronouncements. We have been praised by international markets because we seem to be aggressively successfully managing the pandemic.”

But he warned about what he described as “sporadic pronouncements” that have the potential to disorient the industry, urging Mr Balala to collaborate with stakeholders to spur tourism.

Mr Balala assured industry players that the government will support the revival of the industry, but he said quarantines and the Delta variant had complicated matters for the sector.

Kenya is still on the UK government’s  red list, which includes countries that present the highest risk of Covid-19 and should not be visited “except in the most extreme of circumstances”.

Kenya is now seeking to lure tourists from countries that have vaccinated most of their populations, mainly the US, the UK and China.

“These are nations that have conducted massive vaccination for their population and those are the people who will be travelling sooner than the others. That is why we want to ensure Kenyans are vaccinated … so that when visitors come in we will be safer,” he said.

A Covid-19 passport will eventually be required, he said, adding that travellers cannot visit some countries without double vaccines. 

On June 28, President Uhuru Kenyatta said all visitors must possess a negative Covid-19 PCR certificate, acquired no more than 96 hours before arrival, with the certificate validated on the Trusted Travel platform for air travellers.

He said his government would vaccinate the entire adult population of 26 million by 2022, and that 10 million will have been inoculated by Christmas this year.

Data from the Tourism Research Institute shows Kenya received 305,635 international visitors between January and June this year.

The US was Kenya’s top source market with 49,178 arrivals, followed by Uganda (31,418), Tanzania (31,291), China (18,069), the UK (16,264), India (13,950) and Rwanda (9,800). Others are Somalia (9,194), Nigeria (8,267) and Ethiopia (7,487).