24/11/2020
SOUTH AFRICA: COVID-19 testing opens at ORTIA
Travellers departing South Africa from OR Tambo can get COVID-19 PCR-tested and collect their certificate at the airport prior to departure, Travel News reports.
National Health Laboratory Service (www.nhls.ac.za/) is operating three mobile COVID-19 Test Units in clearly identifiable vans located opposite the InterContinental Hotel, in front of the Police Station, on the lower level of the airport complex. The service is available 24/7 according to Port Health Services, at a cost of R600 (cash, cheque cards and credit cards are accepted, except American Express). Children under five years do not require a test.
Results are available in four to six hours and the traveller is advised by SMS that the test result and certificate are ready for collection. After testing, travellers can wait for the SMS at the airport or nearby, collect the certificate, and proceed to fly, or the test may be done a day or two prior to departure if preferred, and the certificate collected on the day of departure.
Inbound travellers to South Africa, including South Africans, must hold a negative PCR test certificate taken within 72 hours of their departure time. This certificate is valid for the duration of the traveller’s inbound journey and takes into consideration long stopovers at transit points, but the test validity has a maximum of 14 days, and is for a single entry only. A new test is required every time a traveller departs for South Africa.