The Minister of Health, Mr. Semano Sekatle on Monday announced that as of 1st August the newly introduced  Trusted Travel Certificates will be in operation.
Mr. Sekatle said this when addressing the media at the press conference held at the Ministry of Health Auditorium in Maseru.
The Trusted Travel Certificate initiative is intended to enable African Union (AU) member states to keep their borders open for economic activities while preventing or reducing the spread of COVID-19.
The Minister said AU officially launched the Trusted Travel platform as part of the overall Trusted Travel Initiative during a joint ministerial meeting of the ministers of health under Africa Centre for Disease Control (CDC).
He said the certificates which will be digitalized are going to serve as a proof that the holder has tested negative for COVID-19, saying this initiative will also prevent production of fake COVID-19 certificates at borders during the entry and departure.
Further describing the features on the certificates, Mr. Sekatle said each document will have a unique verification code which will be send via email or sms to the owner, adding that for individuals without smartphones or internet, they will be given printed copies of their results.
Requirement for obtaining the Trusted Travel Certificates include production of Identification Document (ID) or passport.
“All licensed laboratories which were issuing COVID-19 Test Certificate will now process the certificates online,” Mr. Sakatle stressed.
The Minister noted that this initiative is supported by the company experts namely PanaBIOS Consortium.
Also speaking, NACOSEC Head of Information Technology, Mrs. Itumeleng Mphoso said these certificates will be in line with the regulations of individual countries one travels to, saying the validity of this document will depend on the country that one visits to.
The Trusted Travel platform provides an extensive suite of technologies that will enable AU member states to verify the authenticity of test results issued by other countries.
By Staff Reporter: Noliwe Velaphe