Tanzania opens its doors: Our contribution to protection against Covid-19

Tanzania opens its borders to foreign tourists and business travellers, making it the first country in the world to welcome all tourists with open arms. The Tanzanian government has confirmed the abolition of the 14-day quarantine on entry. Already in early June 2020, the first passenger aircraft of Ethiopian Airline reached Kilimanjaro International Airport. With numerous hygiene and protective measures, arriving guests are safely guided through passport and baggage control and undergo extensive Covid-19 screening.

Below is an overview of the standard operating procedures implemented by Afromaxx in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Operational protection for Tanzania Safari from Covid-19

1. We have appointed and trained an employee to Covid-19 for the operational protection of Afromaxx guests and staff. He is the point of contact with the Tanzanian Ministry of Health and carries out regular checks on the implementation of the Covid-19 protection measures. Part of his responsibility is to keep up to date on health protocols, preventive measures, as well as tests and COVID-19 treating hospitals.
2) Through intensive communication with Afromaxx staff and training units, he will ensure that the current COVID-19 precautions are continuously followed to ensure the safety of Afromaxx guests and staff.
3. Afromaxx will ensure that all employees comply with the protective and preventive measures against COVID-19.
4. Afromaxx will ensure that all contact surfaces are regularly cleaned and disinfected with approved disinfectants. In detail this means that for example the Afromaxx safari driver will disinfect the vehicle daily by cleaning door handles, window locks, binoculars, refrigerator and touchable surfaces.
5. During the safari only private groups or family groups will travel together. We have revised the concept of group travel. For group tours with participants from different households, the safari will be booked in an 8-seater vehicle with a maximum of 4 participants. Groups consisting of families or members of one household can still travel with up to 6 participants in one vehicle. Thus Social Distancing is also possible and safe on safari.
6. The safari driver will wear sterile disposable gloves when loading and unloading luggage.
7. The vehicle for the airport transfers will be cleaned and disinfected after each trip and equipped with new seat covers. Our driver will have new mouth protection masks ready for you.
8) Our Covid-19 managers will ensure that all safari drivers wear the recommended protective equipment during the trip through the national parks and when taking care of guests.
9 Afromaxx will ensure that adequate hand washing and disinfection facilities are available in the safari vehicle for use by guests and staff alike.
10. Afromaxx will ensure that used items such as masks and gloves are disposed of in a dustbin in accordance with national health and safety standards.
12. Afromaxx will instruct its personnel to keep a distance of 1.5 meters between the driver and the guests.
13. Afromaxx tours will be conducted by a Covid-19 certified guide.

Trust is the new currency

We as a tour operator are working flat out on the implementation and realisation of the new guidelines. For this purpose we have developed a far-reaching package of measures for our tours and will integrate new knowledge about Covid-19 in a timely manner. If you as a guest trust that we at Afromaxx will do our best on site in Tanzania to ensure your safety on the trip, then you will travel again. Who could do this better than a German based travel partner in Tanzania, who knows the worries and fears regarding Covid-19 and who is explicit.

A Safari – Smart Distancing

Instead of crowded European destinations, a safari in Tanzania offers much more space for distance and safety. In the national parks you can observe the animals in the bush instead of the passing passers-by in the café. Guests travel with Afromaxx as a couple or family in a safari vehicle with little contact with the local population. There are also no events visited which offer the danger of infection, but deserted areas with scenic highlights. The lodges are converting to the new measures of the Covid-19 regulations, so that in the evening you can enjoy a private table in the lodges’ restaurant with a distance to other guests.

Be mindful and laugh together

It will be different after Corona! In search of orientation we will be more attentive, appreciate little things more and understand nature more globally. Corona has hit us all hard, put our lives on pause and given us plenty of time to think. Social Distancing protects us from Corona. But Social Distancing can be depressing when we lack the exchange and contact with other people. It is a new time, in which many things break up. It is therefore all the more important to dare to look at new things, to discover and to laugh together. What better way to do this than by travelling?

Caution and courage

The WHO has predicted that COVID will hit Africa hard! This has not happened yet! And even if the transparency of the Tanzanian government regarding the Covid-19 new infections is questionable, we do not have a picture of the crisis from friends and acquaintances, nor do we want to see the fact of the risk of infection lightly. It also takes a little courage to accept the new normality and to put an end to the standstill of life. With numerous protective measures the danger of infection can be greatly reduced and life can be made worth living again. For you and for others. Think also of the people here and travel to Tanzania.