Mandatory quarantine period for travellers from UK extended to 7 days

The government has decided to extend the mandatory quarantine period to seven days for passengers arriving from the United Kingdom (UK) in a bid to contain the spread of new variants of coronavirus in Bangladesh.

"The new instruction will come in effect from January 25," Gp Capt Chy M Zia Ul Kabir, members, Flight Standard and Regulation said this in a notice on Saturday.

The fresh decision comes more than a week after the health authorities issued guidelines on January 13 mentioning a four-day mandatory quarantine for the incoming passengers from the UK.

As per the notice, all passengers from the UK would be put under mandatory institutional quarantine for seven days at hotels designated by the government. Passengers themselves would need to bear the cost of their stay.

Also Read - Mandatory quarantine period for travellers from UK slashed to 4 days

If any passenger is not willing to stay at the designated hotels, they would be kept in institutional quarantine at designated government-operated centres.

According to the guidelines, each passenger would undergo a PCR test for Covid-19 after their seven-day institutional quarantine is complete. If the test is negative, the passenger would be transferred from institutional quarantine to home quarantine to complete the total 14 days quarantine.

If the test is positive, the passenger would be sent to isolation at a government-designated hospital. The passenger would need to bear the cost of their stay at the hospital.

In December last year, Health Minister Zahid Maleque announced that passengers arriving from the UK would be institutionally quarantined for seven days when it is usually three days for passengers from other countries.

The minister also said that passengers from the UK would be provided with separate lines and counters for immigration as "Bangladesh does not want a new strain of the pathogen to spread in the country."