Important Warning Relating to PCR Testing in Tanzania

While it is absolutely in Team Kilimanjaro’s interests to encourage clients to visit Tanzania and use our Kilimanjaro and safari services, and we would therefore very much like to be able to advise that the Ministry of Health is competent to assist visitors with PCR testing, and to supply valid results within the requisite timescales, sadly, having already assisted many clients with testing and witnessed the procedures employed by the Tanzanian Ministry of Health, and received a great deal of feedback from tourists who are not our clients, we greatly regret that we are bound to disclose that the following are our findings:

The results supplied by the Ministry of Health do not conform to the requirement imposed by most governments, or the airlines that enforce these requirements on their behalf, that certification reflects results from testing that was undertaken not more than 72 hours ahead of boarding a homebound flight, when the definition of "testing" is considered to be the process that occurs when a traveller visits a clinic to provide a nasal and throat sample.
While the fastest turnaround time that we have witnessed to date for the provision of results has been 52 hours, typically, it can take up to 72 hours to receive results after attending the PCR clinic.
Any minor input errors when booking the PCR test appointment will effectively attract a fine of USD 100, imposed by the Ministry of Health - who will refuse to complete the test until a new booking has been placed and paid for again. We are aware of a client who was asked to pay USD 100 again when the digit ‘9’ within their passport number was accidentally typed as ‘8’. It is a simple matter, however, for the clinician to contact the MoH accounts department and request that they reallocate a payment to a new booking, but representatives of the MoH have gone on record to clarify that this is not their policy and they will require a tourist to pay USD 100 again if they commit a typing error.
We are aware of a Russian tourist who had been sampled in excess of 72 hours prior to her flight, who was repeatedly assured by Ministry of Health representatives to be supplied with her results in time for her flight but who, by the time of attempting to board her flight, had still not been supplied with her results. Sadly, the Ministry of Health did not use any of these USD 100 penalty payments received by clients who had committed minor inputting errors, to compensate this traveller for their own error. She was left to attend to the consequences of this error without any assistance from the MoH.
The only basis on which the PCR test certificates are issued is that of accepting the definition of the word “test” as the process that occurs in the government laboratory 1-2 days after attending the clinic, and not the process that occurs in the laboratory when the medic extracts the sample from the client. Since this is not the definition of the word “test” that is in general use with governments worldwide or with airlines, the operability of the certification system in Tanzania therefore relies on worldwide governments and airlines failing to identify this disparity. At the point at which it is identified that all the certificates issued by the Ministry of Health have dates that are 1-2 days later than the actual “test” date (as defined by the overwhelming majority of governments worldwide), passengers may expect to be denied boarding. Thereafter, since results cannot be obtained within 72 hours of the clinic visit date, passengers may struggle to exit the country.

While it is our professional duty to disclose the above, we would reiterate that to date the majority of tourists that we are aware of have received their results in time, and to date, no airline or government has identified the disparity between the “sample” date and the “test” date. Travellers are therefore nonetheless encouraged to visit Tanzania but should willingly undertake to accept the above risks as a condition of entry.

Getting a PCR Test in Zanzibar

Although there is no requirement to have a PCR test for COVID in order to enter Tanzania, many climbers are nonetheless required by their airline to show evidence of a negative COVID test before boarding the flight home.

For those who have climbed Kilimanjaro with us and will shortly thereafter be flying home, it is a simple matter to arrange a PCR test in Arusha. However, often clients will visit Zanzibar before flying home, in which case a PCR test conducted in Arusha will no longer be valid by the time they board their home-bound flight.

Where to get a PCR Test in Zanzibar — Tasakhtaa Global Hospital in Zanzibar

Organising a PCR test in Zanzibar

For those required by the rules within their country of origin to have a negative PCR test result, this is our recommendation:

1. Arrange to visit Tasakhtaa Hospital no later (yes, that's right, no later) than 72 hours prior to your departing flight home.

Testing times at Tasakhtaa Global Hospital

No appointments are necessary - just turn up between these times to be tested:

Monday to Friday: 0730 to 1100.

Cost of tests

You'll need to pay USD 100 per person for the test. This is payable by cash or credit card. Visa and MasterCard are accepted.

2. Tell the clinic staff your intended date to fly home, give them your email address, and ask them to copy-in TK, in case your mail server's spam filter rejects an email with an attachment from a new (apparently unsolicited) contact. That way we can help get your certificate to you if anything goes wrong.

3. Let Team Kilimanjaro know (preferably via WhatsApp) as soon as you've been tested, so we can help to chase the result in case there are any challenges with communication while you are travelling the island.

4. When you receive the scanned copy of your test result, ask your hotel to print you off a copy. This is recommended because some airlines insist on having a paper copy (which is, of course, a bizarre thing to insist on, but anyway...).

That's it. You're good to go 👍

But what about the 72 hour rule?

In the minds of many travellers, there's clearly a dichotomy associated with these tests, and it can be an otherwise unnecessary source of stress to travellers that can take a lot of the joy out of going on holiday.

The apparent problem is this: testing centres (including the one we recommend above) want to cover themselves against delays by saying that they might take up to 72 hours to provide the test results, and airlines say that if your test results are older than 72 hours, they aren't allowed to let you board. This obviously makes complying with the requirements of both parties - laboratory and airline - completely impossible! Look, here's an extract from an airline's website:

"A negative corona PCR test result. The test has to be taken within 72 hours before departure and you must bring along a hard copy of this test result..."

And when Team Kilimanjaro discussed this issue with them, they said this:

Hello, thank you for your question! As an airline, we do not require a PCR test. We are required to follow, by law, the entry requirements set by the authorities of the country you are travelling to. Most countries require the test to be taken within 72 hours of the planned departure time. If we were to let people on the plane with the wrong documentation (so, say, a PCR test result that is too old) the passenger would be denied entry into the country they are travelling to. We would have to fly the passenger in question back to the country they departed from and we also risk a fine by taking a passenger whose documentation is not in order.

Please consult the authorities of the country you or your clients are flying to concerning the regulations of a COVID test result to confirm what regulations they have set. Thank you for understanding.

Okay. So, it's definitely essential that your test results should not be older than 72 hours at the time of boarding your home-bound flight. And airlines have no discretion in this matter to use any common-sense because, as KLM said above, they run the risk both of themselves being fined, and of you theoretically being denied entry when trying to get through border control on arrival at home. So, how is it possible to comply with these rules?

Relax! It's very straightforward...

There's actually nothing to worry about. Although the airline states that your test itself, that is, your test "should be taken" within 72 hours of your planned departure time, and not the date your results are received should be within 72 hours of your planned departure time, nonetheless, the "test itself" is not an instantaneous process...

The test phase begins when the clinic takes the two swabs from your nose and throat, and only ends the moment the collaborating laboratory processes the result, and this could be a few days after your samples were obtained.

So, there's no problem getting a test the day you arrive onto the island, and subsequently staying at a hotel for 5-7 days, before taking your departing flight home, as long as you advise the clinic of your returning flight date when you get tested, so that they can coordinate the testing process such that the test completes within 72 hours (or usually within 24 hours, as it happens) of your intended boarding time to fly home.

How to Get a PCR Test in the Serengeti

Monday, March 1st 2021

How to Get a PCR Test in Zanzibar

Thursday, December 3rd 2020

How to Get a PCR Test in Arusha

Wednesday, November 4th 2020