COVID 19 PCR test with laboratory stamp or QR code- 72 hours before transit flight to Egypt

Hello- I am having difficulty finding a lab that can do PCR test with a QR code or a stamp from the actual lab. I found one, but it will be difficult to get results by 72 hours before transit flight. We are flying Dulles to London (5 hour layover) to Cairo. How closely do they look at 72 hours? We leave London at 3:20 pm on Saturday. 72 hours London time? Or will they calculate that in US it is 7 hours earlier than London ? Anyone have any experience with this?

I found an urgent care that said we could come back the next day and they would stamp it with their urgent care stamp and have a Dr. Sign. Has anyone does this? What have people experienced going into Egypt? Anyone arrive from Baltimore area and have a lab that met criteria? Thank you.

Comments

  • Jill, when I look at the information Egypt requires it says 72 hours UNLESS you’re coming from London, Frankfurt and other areas they extend the time to 96 hours. Also the information says they are now accepting fully vaccinated people and don’t need the RT-PCR test. But I’m not taking any chances that the word might not have reach airport personnel! We too are changing in London and I count back from the departure time at LHR taking the time change into account.

  • We are flying out of Dulles to London and have found a lab near Dulles that will do what you have said. They said we could even pick up the paper copy on our way to the airport, but that’s too close for comfort for me. And we have Thanksgiving the day before we fly out. We’ll do the test Tuesday afternoon, which will be well within the 96 hour window for a Saturday morning departure from LHR.

  • I was told everything starts counting from the time the test is stamped. So take off the time difference. Minus your flying time, layover time. Then figure the difference between when you get the stamped results and actual departure time. For me Thanksgiving day presented a huge challenge. I leave the Friday after Thanksgiving in the evening. I found a lab near DFW that caters to international travelers with results in 30 minutes. So, I opted to have the test run on the way to the airport on Friday, so all the hours are in front of me.
    I have read on other threads that travelers were denied boarding because the text expired. Ugh.
    Jill, what’s the date of the tour you are on? I’m on November 28th.

  • We are November 21 tour - i will look into the 96 hours from London exception. Thank you. I finally found a place for $325 per person to get QR code and same day results. So that is the route I am going at this point.

  • These prices are ridiculous! I haven’t had to take a Covid test for travel yet, so not looked into it at all. I’ve been tested prior to surgery and also when my hubby had a bit of a fever and sore throat last year. We went to an urgent care. Testing was free. We were both negative and the dr said my husband’s fever wasn’t high enough for Covid in her opinion. But, our results came back many hours apart. I don’t want to even think about where we will need to go for testing until about a month before our trip goes, in the hope that testing will be a thing of the past and vaccination and booster will be the gold standard.
    Thankfully, oir Costa Rica tour doesn’t require testing…well at the moment

  • Jill, have a great time on your trip! Glad you found a place to get your test. The 96 hour reference is in your green book at the bottom of page 4.

  • I am going on the jewels of the Nile Aug 21. Is it Tauck that requires a QR CODE WITH PCR? Currently Egypt does not require testing anymore I live in SC and nobody does a QR for PCR. Please advise
    This info came from https://www.egyptonlinevisa.com/travel-restrictions/?amp#Egypt-PCR-test-requirement
    Do I Need a COVID-19 Test to Fly to Egypt?

    No, passengers are no longer required to take a COVID-19 test to fly to Egypt. Egypt’s COVID-19 entry restrictions were lifted on June 17, 2022. Previously, travelers who did not have a valid vaccination certificate needed to take a COVID-19 PCR or antigen test before flying.

    A printed negative test result certificate should not be requested on entry. COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate to Travel to Egypt

    Passengers no longer need to show proof of full vaccination to travel to Egypt. A vaccination certificate for COVID-19 is not a mandatory document to enter Egypt.

    Before the rules were changed on June 17, 2022, passengers with a valid vaccination certificate were exempt from testing requirements. The rules are now the same, regardless of vaccination status.

  • Sheri_1955
    4:11PM

    Sheri, this is an old thread. I couldn't tell if you were giving an update or have questions based on conflicting information- there was no shortage of that!

    Things are continually evolving. Your first link is to a commercial visa facilitator, not the official Govt of Egypt website.

    According to the US Embassy, Cairo https://eg.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/covid-19-information/ you still need either proof of vax or a paper results of a negative PCR, antigen, or ID NOW test administered no earlier than 72 hours prior to leaving the US. (Updated 12 June 2022)

    It was a subject of debate whether the proof of vax certificate must have a QR code. Likely more out an abundance of caution in case Egypt wanted to see vax certificate with a QR code or because it was required back back in March, Tauck arranged for all of us to be tested on J&E in Petra, Jordan, before we arrived in Egypt. I don't remember if we saw it, but I assume the results had QR codes.

    Frankly, the way things have been going and how our documents were barely viewed, if at all, I don't put a lot of faith in the QR code requirement. Many people can get "official" vax paperwork from their healthcare provider or state health department (e.g. NC).

    All that being said, though I have not seen it on an official Egyptian government website (Ministry of Health and Population) other than a blurb from the Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism and the site at your link, it is being reported that all COVID requirements to enter Egypt- proof of vax and testing- were rescinded on 17 June 2022.

    The bottom line, however, Tauck has not changed "their" requirement for testing. So call Tauck to verify before you decide not to get tested.

  • edited June 2022

    Thanks for your reply. I understand Tauck has not changed their requirement. I have had several covid testa for travel and was never issued a QR code.

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