The bottom line is: visitors without masks or those who do not abide by the handwashing and sanitisation measures shall not be permitted to enter Uganda’s Protected Areas or UWA premises.

Here is a summary of the key points that will affect you as a potential visitor.

• UWA provide hand washing / sanitisation facilities at the entrances of all its premises and Protected Areas. All persons accessing the PAs shall wash and / or use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser (at least 60% alcohol).
• All staff and visitors shall correctly and consistently wear the recommended masks which shall cover the nose and mouth at all times.
• UWA staff use non-contact infrared thermometers to conduct body temperature screening of all visitors at the tourism gates of the Protected Areas.
• Visitors with body temperatures above 37.5 degrees Celsius will be denied entry into the Protected Areas and will be reported to the respective District medical teams.
• International tourists are required to provide proof that they have undergone the necessary GoU / MoH measures for inbound travellers. This proof may include, but not limited to, clearance by MoH of mandatory quarantine or rapid test results.

Specific requirements for those who are Chimpanzee and Gorilla Tracking

• Tourists and researchers who enter gorilla / chimp habitats of Bwindi Impenetrable, Mgahinga Gorilla and Kibale National Parks and Kyambura Wildlife Reserve are required to wear N95 masks, surgical masks or cloth masks with filters.
• It is mandatory for all tourists who track primates to carry at least two N95 masks / surgical masks / double layered cloth masks with filters.
• At the briefing points, visitors and staff shall wash hands or sanitise and have their body temperature taken.
• Briefing / debriefing shall be done in small groups of eight tourists.
• Any individual who is observed to be sick (signs of flu, diarrhoea, stomach upset, malaria, for example) during the briefing shall not be allowed to track.
• All visitors, staff, trackers and porters must wear masks.
• Before gorilla / chimpanzee viewing commences, everyone in the group shall sanitise their hands again.
• A maximum of six tourists are allowed to track a chimpanzee group at a time. (A maximum of eight tourists are allowed to track a gorilla group per day).
• Tourists must keep a minimum distance of 10 metres from the gorillas and chimpanzees at all times (previously the rule was 7 metres).
• UWA guides shall ensure there is social distancing of 2 metres between tourists while tracking, where practical.

Disposal of used masks

Masks are medical wastes and should be treated as such. Used masks should not be thrown indiscriminately in Protected Areas or open dust bins as they can pose a potential health hazard to people or animals who come in contact with such masks.

Full details are contained in the document “Standard Operating Procedures for opening tourism and research post- COVID19 in Protected Areas. Uganda Wildlife Authority and Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities. July 2020.”
https://www.muzungubloguganda.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/SOPs-for-opening-tourism-and-research-post-covid.-Uganda-Wildlife-Authority-Ministry-of-Tourism.July-2020.pdf