The Minister of Health, Jane Ruth Aceng (pictured) has defended the high costs of COVID-19 tests for all people entering the country, saying they are minimal compared to other countries.
This is after the Soi county MP, Abdi Fadhil Chemaswet raised a matter of national concern in which he wanted parliament to inquire into the high cost of Covid-19 tests at Entebbe International Airport.
He added that the process is also disorganized as it is done at the airport.
Chemaswet said every person returning to the country is required to pay US$65 or Shs250,000 to undergo a COVID-19 PCR test and wondered why the government has left this to private companies yet in other countries it is done by Government.
In response, Minister Aceng informed parliament that the mandatory tests are done to reduce the risk of importing new COVID-19 variants in the country but says that the cost is relatively cheap compared to other countries.
Aceng also said that the tests are not done at the Airport to avoid congestion since the size is small and there are a lot of other activities being undertaken there.
