Mohammed Abu Zaid

CAIRO: Passengers arriving at Cairo International Airport will be allowed to enter the country without undertaking a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test as long as they carry proof of full vaccination, authorities have announced.

Officials at the Egyptian capital’s airport have started implementing Ministry of Health easing of rules allowing travelers with a vaccination certificate into Egypt without the need for a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) swab, provided 14 days had passed since receiving a second jab.

Quarantine manager, Hazem Emam, said that a fine of $1,000 would be imposed on airlines breaching the new regulations at Cairo, adding that the move would reduce the burden on other airports such as Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada.

“Most travelers so far have presented the PCR certificate, since it has only been 48 hours since the implementation of the decision, but soon the vaccination certificate will be a requirement at airports.

“There are some countries that require you to be vaccinated in order to enter the country, and therefore these decisions have encouraged many people concerned with travel to take the vaccine,” Emam said.

The ministry said in a statement distributed to airports and ports that entry into Egypt would be granted for any passenger having had two jabs of a vaccine approved by the World Health Organization and the Egyptian Medicines Authority at least two weeks before travel, as long as they are arriving from a country not affected by a COVID-19 variant.

The approved vaccines are Sputnik, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Sinopharm, Sinovac, and Johnson and Johnson, which only requires one shot.