The government has decided to increase the number of hospitals conducting Covid-19 tests for the convenience of overseas passengers and to ensure health standards.
The decision was taken at a meeting between the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism on Tuesday, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) Chairman Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman told Dhaka Tribune.
“We have proposed to increase the number of hospitals with Covid-19 testing facilities so that overseas passengers can provides samples and collect test certificates without hassle,” said the CAAB chairman.
He added that the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) would decide on the scale of the expansion, but the number of hospitals with testing facilities in Dhaka will definitely be increased. The capital’s Combined Military Hospital is on the list of hospitals to be equipped with testing facilities.
The list of hospitals will be published by the DGHS on Wednesday, the CAAB chief further said.
In an official notification to CAAB on Friday, the Civil Aviation Ministry designated 16 state-run medical facilities across the country for the tests. Among them, three are in Dhaka and the rest are in Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Barisal, Comilla, Narayanganj, Khulna, Kushtia, Mymensingh, Bogra, Rajshahi, Dinajpur, Rangpur and Sylhet.
Travellers must provide samples 72 hours before their flights and the testing facilities must deliver reports at least 24 hours before departure. The institutions testing the samples will have to update the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) on the results every day.
A team of five doctors will check test certificates of outgoing passengers at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka. One will be posted at the VIP gate and the other four at the other gates of the airport, according to the CAAB chairman.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry in its recommendation to the Civil Aviation Ministry slapped 10 conditions on the facilities testing samples from air passengers.
As per the conditions, designated facilities will charge Tk3,500 for samples provided at the collection booths and an additional Tk1,000 will be charged if samples are collected from home. Passengers will submit travel details and documents to the civil surgeon’s office and may provide samples at the booths set up there.
Apart from delivering test reports to the civil surgeons’ offices, testing facilities will have to upload the reports to the immigration website.
Civil surgeons’ offices have been told to open separate hotlines for the service and to ensure that the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, Health Services Division and DGHS are kept updated, according to officials.
Ayesha Akter, in-charge of the DGHS Control Room, on Saturday said the list of the 16 designated testing facilities had been forwarded to the Health Ministry.
Civil Aviation Secretary Md Mohibul Haque confirmed that he had received the list from the Health Ministry.
He also said passengers will require Covid-19 certificates for travelling abroad from July 23.
“Passengers will have to submit their travel documents with the civil surgeons’ offices before they can provide samples for testing,” Mohibul Haque said on Saturday.
The designated facilities will have to meet the 10 conditions imposed by the health ministry, he added.
The senior government official further said passengers can get their samples tested from any of the 16 facilities irrespective of their addresses in Bangladesh, and that a previous list of testing facilities by the UAE government is no longer valid.
“Passengers must isolate themselves after providing samples. The Covid-19 clearance certificates can be either downloaded from the websites of the testing facilities or collected in person,” he said.
On July 12, the government announced that it would make it mandatory for all Bangladeshis flying abroad to obtain Covid-19 clearance certificates provided by any DGHS-approved facility.
Later, the DGHS recommended 33 private facilities for testing, but the list was turned down by the Civil Aviation Ministry as it did not include any state-run facilities.
