Health Desk – 30 Mar, 2021: The government has made 14 days of institutional quarantine mandatory for all passengers coming to Bangladesh from any European country and the United Kingdom, following the sharp rise in Covid-19 cases and deaths.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) in a circular on Tuesday said that upon completion of the quarantine period, a Covid-19 PCR test will be carried out and the passenger will be released if the result comes back negative.
These new guidelines will come into effect from 12am March 31, and remain in place until further notice.
On arrival, “all passengers originating from any European countries, including the UK, shall have to complete mandatory 14 days institutional quarantine at government facilities or government-approved hotels at passenger’s own expenses,” said the CAAB circular.
Also, it said, passengers coming from any other countries shall strictly have to complete a 14 days home quarantine if no Covid-19 symptoms are found on-arrival health check in Bangladesh.
However, if any Covid-19 symptoms are detected/observed, he/she will have to complete mandatory 14 days of institutional quarantine at government facilities or government-approved hotels at their own expenses.
It has also been made mandatory for all passengers to carry PCR based Covid-19 negative certificate, irrespective of vaccination. That PCR test should be done within 72 hours before the flight.
Keeping with the recent surge in Covid-19 infections, the country on Monday recorded the highest ever cases — 5,181 — in a single day since March last year and the highest number of deaths — 45 — since August 28 last year.
With those numbers, the death toll went up to 8,949 and the total number of cases to 600,895, according to the health directorate.
17 hotels
The government has approved 17 hotels in Dhaka for implementing the mandatory quarantine management of returnees.
They are — Ascott The Residence Dhaka, Ascott Palace Ltd Dhaka, and Days Hotel Dhaka in Baridhara, The Westin Dhaka, Long Beach Suites Dhaka, Hotel Lake Castle, Hotel Tropical Daisy, and Hotel Bengal Blueberry in Gulshan 2, Platinum Hotels By Sheltech, Golden Tulip, Hotel Sweet Dream, Amazon Lilly Lake View Residence, and After Hours Residence in Banani, Monsoon Inn, Hansa, and Best Western Plus Maple Leaf in Uttara, and La Vinci Hotel in Karwan Bazar.
