It is good to see that the government has decided to increase the number of hospitals conducting Covid-19 tests for the convenience of overseas passengers.
Bangladeshis needing to travel abroad will require a Covid-19 clearance certificate provided by an institution approved by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and it has been clear to see that in order to provide these certificates without hassle, there was an urgent need for more capacity.
To that end, it is encouraging to see that the government has realized this need, and has called to expand on the number of hospitals currently approved to provide these certificates to potential travellers.
However, there remain issues with the whole set-up to begin with, which begins with the designated facilities charging Tk3,500 for sample collection at the collection booths and a further Tk1,000 if the sample was collected from home -- this is an exorbitant amount of money to be charging travellers, and the government should consider making it free, or at least making the procedure more affordable.
Moreover, the authorities would do well to crack down on the bad actors who are looking to take advantage of the current situation and provide fake certificates and health reports. We have already seen numerous institutions and people proven to be guilty of this, and this is simply not acceptable.
Increasing capacity is well and good, but ensuring that Bangladeshi travellers get the best possible service, and are not robbed of their hard-earned money by unscrupulous persons and institutions must be prioritized.
