Get a rapid antigen or PCR Covid-19 test in Cairo to return to the USA from Egypt
Note: this blog post was originally published on April 30, 2021, and was updated on December 10, 2021, and again on April 1, 2022.
Paper copy of the Covid-19 test I got in Cairo to enter the United States in March, 2022. It is a little wrinkled from 16 hours of travel!
I just recently returned to the United States from a month in Egypt on March 22, 2022, and have received a lot of questions regarding things like Covid-19 testing, paperwork needed, and quarantine requirements, so this blog post is dedicated to all you need to know about returning from your trip to Egypt in the aftermath of Covid-19.
Need help with getting to Egypt? Check out this video on all the Covid-19 requirements to enter Egypt.
Prefer to watch instead? Check out this video going over where to get your Covid-19 test in Cairo and what you need to return to the USA from Egypt.
The Basics
It actually is very easy to get from Egypt to the United States; all a traveler needs is a negative Covid-19 test (rapid antigen or PCR), taken 1 day before departure from Egypt, or if the person had Covid-19 within the last 90 days but has recovered, a doctor’s note stating this, along with the positive Covid-19 test within the past 90 days. The requirement used to be 72 hours before a flight’s departure, but has since changed to 1-day before. Note that this 1-day before is from the departure of the original flight from Cairo, not the last direct flight to the USA.
The exact requirements from the US Government reads as follows:
If you plan to travel internationally, you will need to get a COVID-19 viral test (regardless of vaccination status or citizenship) no more than 1 day before you travel by air into the United States. You must show your negative result to the airline before you board your flight.
If you recently recovered from COVID-19, you may instead travel with documentation of recovery from COVID-19 (i.e., your positive COVID-19 viral test result on a sample taken no more than 90 days before the flight’s departure from a foreign country and a letter from a licensed healthcare provider or a public health official stating that you were cleared to travel).
Get a PCR or rapid antigen test
Most travelers will return by getting a PCR or rapid antigen test. The service I recommend is Town Lab, which is managed by a woman named Dr. Marwa.
This lab goes to your hotel and does the test there, and then delivers the results, same-day.
For rapid antigen tests, they will give you the results in 3 hours or less, and the test costs 500 Egyptian Pounds at the time of writing (under $30).
For PCR tests, they will give you the results in 6 hours or less, and the test costs 650 Egyptian Pounds (about $35).
To use this service, send Dr. Marwa a Whatsapp message (+20 109-209-9427) or an email (Mlmaaaaa_2005@yahoo.com) with your hotel name, room number, and the day and time you would like the test and she will coordinate with her medical team to get a provider out to you. The test is a nasal swab, just like you would receive in the USA. We recommend setting up this service five days in advance of when you need the test, but one time we set it up 24 hours in advance, and they were able to accommodate. Have the fee ready to go in cash, confirm again with the specific provider the day before or the day of the test, and that’s it!
Another option is to go to the Children’s Cancer Hospital in Cairo, where a PCR test is slightly cheaper. This service has not been used by me, but clients have used it and recommended it. In the past, they have given results the next day, which might make the turnaround time too slow for travelers whose flights are early in the morning after their testing day, with the new 1-day requirement.
If you had Covid-19 within 90 days of your departure from Cairo
If you had Covid-19 within 90 days prior to your departure from Cairo, your Covid-19 test could still be positive, especially if you had Covid-19 while in Egypt.
This is what happened to me in November/December 2021; I contracted Covid-19, and got a positive Covid-19 test in November. After isolating for 10 days, and clearing all my symptoms, I exited isolation and went about business as usual. However, when it came time to depart Egypt for the United States, instead of opting for a Covid-19 test (which could potentially still be positive, even though I had recovered), I went to a doctor at the clinic at the Anglo-American Hospital in Zamalek, and got an examination, and then a doctor’s note stating that I had previously had Covid-19, but had recovered, and now was cleared to travel.
The whole process took about 2 hours, did not require an appointment, and cost 600 Egyptian Pounds for the examination, and 300 Egyptian Pounds to notarize the doctor’s note.
Check out this video where I show how I got my proof of recovery after I contracted Covid-19 in Egypt.
Paperwork
You will get this form at the Cairo Airport before heading to your gate. This form has nothing to do with Covid-19, but is just a passport control form they will need when they check your visa and stamp it, allowing you to leave the country.
The only piece of paper you need to have on-hand to leave Egypt and travel back to the United States is your negative Covid-19 test, or your positive Covid-19 PCR within the past 90 days along with your doctor’s note saying you had recovered and were clear to travel. When I flew back from Egypt on 22 March, 2022, I had to show this paperwork at the Cairo Airport, and then again during my layover at CDG in Paris. After that, I never had to show the paper again, not even when I landed in the U.S.
Before boarding my flight from Paris to the USA, I had to fill out an attestation form, which you will see below.
I also had to provide contact tracing information, which Delta Airlines (the airline I had booked through), sent me via email.
Both forms took less than 5 minutes to fill in.
The attestation form I filled out at CDG airport in Paris. It was given to me by a gate agent.
You do not need a vaccine card, a rapid Covid-19 test during your layover, or any other paperwork.
You will be given a copy of this Passenger Disclosure and Attestation form at the airport before your flight to the United States. If you are flying nonstop from Cairo to JFK or IAD they will give this form to you at the airport in Cairo or during your flight, and if you are transiting in Europe you will receive this form at your gate before boarding your flight. The form is super easy to fill out--essentially you check a box, date, and sign the form, and then give it to the boarding agent at the gate.
Arriving to the United States
Once I showed my paperwork to agents at CAI and CDG and filled out the attestation form and gave it to the agent before boarding my flight from Paris to the United States, I flew to Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport. When I arrived, I expected to be questioned by border control or a State Department representative about my Covid-19 test results or asked to show my Covid paperwork, but I never was, and no one I noticed was either. I just went through the standard immigration procedure (passport control, baggage check), and left the airport.
At no point did anyone in the United States talk to me about Covid-19, my test, or any paperwork.
There is currently no federal mandate for travelers arriving from Egypt to quarantine upon arrival to the United States; there is also no requirement for quarantine in Minnesota, but your state may be different--be sure to check local guidelines to know if there is a required quarantine when you arrive from Egypt back to the U.S.
And that’s it! You can travel to Egypt and experience all of the wonders the country has to offer, knowing that your return to the United States will be easy--just remember to get that Covid test 1-day prior to departure; it’s easy when you use the service I recommend above!
It’s always good to be back home.
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