Kenya will have bilateral agreements with various countries that will see citizens of both countries travel freely without further tests provided one is vaccinated.
Health CS Mutahi Kagwe on Wednesday said Kenya will act on a reciprocal basis.
“In other words, if a country is allowing Kenyans who are vaccinated to go into their country without further tests, we will reciprocate the same,” Kagwe said.
He spoke on the sidelines of the 23rd Kenya Clinical Officers Association annual scientific conference in Mombasa on Wednesday.
This means tourists from countries who have vaccinated their citizens will not need to be tested again upon arrival in Kenya provided there are bilateral agreements between Kenya and those countries.
He said the future of travel globally will be entirely dependent on being vaccinated against Covid-19 just as it is with Yellow Fever.
"Countries across the world will not allow unvaccinated people to enter their countries. For those coming to Kenya, we will want them to be fully vaccinated,” Kagwe said.
So far, Kenya has entered into such an agreement with the UK and Qatar.
This means Kenyans travelling to the UK and Qatar will not need to be quarantined and subjected to further tests provided they are fully vaccinated and have the Covid-19 vaccination certificate.
The CS said the agreements will not negatively affect the tourism sector.
On the contrary, he said the move will encourage more tourists to come to Kenya.
“Most of the countries where we get our tourists from are already getting vaccinated, almost full populations,” he said.
“In any event, it is in the interest of the tourists themselves, who will want to be vaccinated before they start travelling,” the CS added.
Kagwe said the government will intensify vaccination in the country to make people safe.
“Once they know Kenya is safe, there is no reason why they shouldn’t come. They will be looking forward to coming,” said the CS.
-Edited by SKanyara
