PCR in Egypt a new business after trading in work permits

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‘Kuwait embassy, health office have nothing to do with matter’

KUWAIT CITY, July 14: Following the trade in residencies (work permits) and the sale of illusions to those desiring to travel to Kuwait, a new “business” related to traveling to Kuwait has been active in Egypt these days, pertaining to the analysis of PCR and the certificate indicating a person is free of the novel coronavirus, which Kuwait obliges all passengers to provide on arrival to the country – starting from August.

With intent or otherwise, dozens of Egyptian centers have been exploiting the announcement of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on requirements for the return of residents to Kuwait.

The PCR analysis, being one of those requirements, has become a pretext for claiming official approval amid the willingness to do it for 2,000 pounds, while the cost may rise to 3,500 pounds if the request is urgent.

Although Civil Aviation confirms the announcement regarding details of the procedures for analysis, the accredited centers in each country will be determined later.

The new brokers used by the analysis centers, including the famous centers, claim it is an approved requirement from the Kuwaiti Embassy for travelers; an allegation denied by a reliable source, stressing the embassy and its health office have nothing to do with the matter reports Al Qabas.

As soon as Kuwaiti authorities closed the door of residency trade before the sellers of delusion to commoners in Egypt and Kuwait, they proceeded with another “trick” to earn money unlawfully and another door to plunder the pockets of Egyptians who wish to return to Kuwait by making them believe that PCR analysis should be conducted for two thousand pounds.

Some centers involve name of Kuwaiti Embassy in these events through a flyer bearing the embassy logo and circulated across communication sites that refer to several accredited centers and doctors.

This was denied by an official source in the Kuwaiti Embassy, stressing “the embassy and its health office have nothing to do with this matter.” The daily contacted a famous analysis center in Cairo that announced opening of the door of reservation to PCR analysis for Egyptians residing in Kuwait.

The correspondent claimed he needed to conduct the analysis for the purpose of traveling, so the center’s employee assured him “the analysis is approved by the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Kuwaiti Embassy in Cairo,” for a sum of 2,000 pounds, adding the sample can be taken from home for additional fees and the results extracted within 72 hours. Another center did not differ from the former in terms of the claim of accreditation from the Egyptian Ministry of Health and the Kuwaiti Embassy, although it provides services such as a smear work within 24 hours only for those who wish to travel to Kuwait at a price of 3,500 pounds.

The owner of the center said “this service is only performed by few centers in terms of speed and accuracy of the analysis, in addition to approval and compliance with the requirements announced by Civil Aviation”. From the analysis portal of coronavirus, activity of brokers and representatives of some companies recruiting labor abroad and those belonging to tourism offices resurfaced after a hiatus of several months resulting from complete closure imposed by the pandemic.

The daily monitored the communication of several representatives of accredited centers that guarantee their Egyptian clients’ safe return to work in exchange for commissions concerning the acceleration of their analysis. Muhammad Hamdallah from Assiut Governorate fell into the trap of the so-called analysis centers after being swept away by ads he described as “misleading”, which made him spend 2,000 pounds in vain.

He said “I conducted the analysis in a center at my city after a representative contacted me to discuss the importance of conducting the analysis to be able to return to Kuwait at the beginning of the opening of airspace. I paid a sum of 2,000 pounds and received the result within 48 hours, and after contacting the Kuwaiti Embassy in Cairo, I was told that no information had been provided about the centers or the conditions and duration of the analysis report. Upon returning to the center, the response I received was that they bore no responsibility except for the test result, and the delegate disappeared from view.”

On our visit to the Kuwaiti Embassy in Cairo for comment on what had been raised and rumored, an official source confirmed that the embassy has nothing to do with the coronavirus analysis or the special requirements or approvals, saying it is the prerogative of other parties. He revealed the circulated image of a publication bearing the logo of the Kuwaiti Health Office in Cairo and containing numbers and centers specialized in conducting an examination of corona virus has nothing to do with the health requirements to be imposed by Civil Aviation authorities.

“Competent authorities are expected to announce all details related to the health centers and conditions for returning Egyptian workers to Kuwait in the coming days, so they should not to be drawn behind anonymous news,” he added.

To explain what is happening, Director of the X-ray Center and a doctor at Kasr Al-Aini Hospital, Dr Muhammad Khaled said, “The return of air traffic and the request of Civil Aviation authorities to conduct a coronavirus analysis before traveling will make medical and tourist workers fl ock to those who want to travel and it natural that many centers are available to compete in providing the service according to required conditions, because it will boom like a season to generate huge profits for workers in this field.”

This news has been read 42743 times!