Ministerial ORDER num. 1. / 2020, dated September 25, by which some precautionary measures are issued for compliance with Decree no. 54/2020, dated August 4, by which the entry into the Second Phase of Relaxation of the State of Sanitary Alarm, restriction of confinement and the precautionary measures adopted by Decree Number 42/2020, dated 31 of March.
In order to better apply and comply with the measures provided in Articles 5 and 6 of Decree number 54/2020, dated August 4, which agreed to enter the Second Phase of relaxation of the State of Alarm Sanitary, the measures taken by the Government during the health crisis had their sole objective, to stop and contain the proliferation of the Coronavirus in Equatorial Guinea and to protect the nation from the massive contagions of this virus.
After the opening of the international borders by the Country, in order to continue with the daily and business activities related to the different sectors, and the requirement to present a proof of test PCRs Negative of COVID-19 of 48 hours of validity, and based to the alert received from neighboring countries about irregularities in the PCR Test Certificates, the Technical Committee for Surveillance and Response to the new coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19) in Equatorial Guinea, has verified that in reality some travelers enter the Country with False and scanned Negative PCRs certificates.
Given the unreliability of these PCRs test Certificates that some travelers provide when entering the National Territory, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, at the proposal of the Technical Committee for Surveillance and Response to COVID-19, agrees and communicates to the public in general the following:
Article 1.- Travelers arriving in the country, whether expatriates or nationals, must present a Negative PCR Test Certificate of maximum 48 hours of issuance from the country of departure..
Article 2.- The traveler will be required to have the PCR Certificate from the Country of departure while boarding on the plane; In other words, the Republic of Equatorial Guinea will not accept any passenger with a PCR certificate valid for more than 48 hours from the boarding date, however the arrival period to Equatorial Guinea may be longer than 48 hours from the passenger’s boarding, depending of the place of departure.
Article 3- The Technical Committee for Surveillance and Response to COVID 19 reserves the right to perform an additional PCR test at the point of entry at the Malabo International Airport for those passengers who present a PCR Certificate of doubtful origin, falsified or scanned .
Article 4.- Passengers with expired or doubtful PCR will be subjected to the following procedures:
-The Laboratory team will take the sample instantly at the point of entry and the cost of which will be borne by the passenger. For nationals, as established in Decree no. 54/2020, 50,000 F.CFA, and Expatriates, 110,000 F.CFA. that must be entered into the account enabled for this purpose.
Proof of payment will be required upon communication of the result of the analysis.
-The passenger will be subject to quarantine in one of the Selected hotels, while waiting for the result: and the cost of staying at the hotel will be borne by them. The list of hotels with their prices will be published on the official website of the Ministry of Health and Welfare: www.guineasalud.org
– The maximum duration while waiting for the result will be 48 hours. If the result is negative, the passenger will be discharged from quarantine when presenting the proof of entry (after payment of the PCR test; and in case of positive, it will act according to the protocol of the Technical Committee for Surveillance and Response to Covid- 19.
– After the presentation of proof of payment, the results will be delivered and the Quarantine Sub-commission will issue a Certificate of discharge from quarantine.
II.- For passengers traveling abroad:
Article 5. The Government of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, as a country that has ratified the International Sanitary Regulations, does not require any conditions from passengers who wish to travel; It depends on the requirement of the Country of Destination; Therefore, no traveler is obliged to take the PCR Test before his trip.
Article 6.- In the framework of the Pandemic that affects all countries, Equatorial Guinea has established mechanisms that guarantee safety to the traveler: In this sense, for those who wish to travel abroad, and depending on the country of destination, they may request the PCR test voluntarily; In other words, it is the responsibility of the traveler to be well informed about the requirements of the destination country.
Article 7. Travelers to whom the country of destination does not require the PCR Test, will not be obliged to take the PCR Test.
Article 8.- Those travelers whose country of destination requires the PCR Covid-19 Test must do so in compliance with the requirements established in this Ministerial Order.
Article 9.-Income from payment of the PCR test will be made to the account set up in the National Bank of Equatorial Guinea (BANGE Number: 371112.33901-31. ) Entitled to the National Institute of Public Health Research of Equatorial Guinea.
- The payment receipt issued by the Bank must be presented to the Laboratory team located at the Buena Esperanza Health Center 1 for sample collection. 9: 00-11: 30 hours, Monday to Sunday. It will also be essential to also present a copy of the interested party’s passport.
Article 10.- All travelers who request the PCR test on the same day of their flight, will undergo the FAST TRACK or accelerated processing modality, which costs are as follows;
– For national citizens: 100,000 F.CFA,
– For expatriate citizens: 220,000 F.CFA
Article 11.- For the activation of this modality, the payment receipt corresponding to the amounts reflected in article 10 of this Ministerial Order is also required. Sampling will be requested through the COVID-19 Certificate Management Office at the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare by calling 666733454. The result will be guaranteed provided that there is still a minimum time of six (6} hours before the departure of the affected person’s flight.
Article 12.- Excluded from the corresponding forms of payment of the PCR Covid-I9 tests included in this Ministerial Order are;
- a) The Health Personnel duly justified by means of the official card, the Personal Identity Document (DIP) or another document that can prove their profession.
- b) State Officials in Official Missions, upon presentation of the letter or Mission Order
- e) Scholarship Students abroad.
After 24 to 48 hours after having performed the PCR Test in the place indicated above, the traveler should go to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, on the first floor, office of the Responsible for the Management of COVID-19 Certificates for travelers with proof of payment in hand to collect your result during business hours.
III. National Travel (MALA BO – BATA):
Article 13.- Taking into account the Epidemiological situation of the disease in the Country, the delta requirement and payment of the Covid-19 PCR test are exempted, travelers who travel between Malabo and Bata. Domestic travelers will only be given a copy of the PCR results. Said copy must be collected at the point of collection of the sample.