425 passengers quarantined from Dhaka airport for travelling sans Covid-19 certificate

A total of 425 incoming passengers were sent to institutional quarantine from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport from Saturday morning to Sunday evening – as they did not have Covid-19 negative certificates on them.

Dr Nasiz Sadman Ahsan, health officer at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) in the capital, confirmed the matter to The Business Standard. 

He said, "According to a circular of the civil aviation authority, the passengers must carry a Covid-19 negative certificate from a RT PCR test. However, many of the passengers have the certificate issued by rapid antigen test."

He continued, "Some 121 passengers – arriving from Dubai, Singapore and Doha through Bangladesh Biman, US Bangla Airlines and Qatar Airways on Sunday from 8am to 7pm – were sent to institutional quarantine in the capital's Diabari and Ashkona Hajj Camp, as they did not have the necessary certificate." 

The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), in a circular on 4 December, announced that anyone wishing to arrive in Bangladesh after 5 December will need a Covid-19 negative certificate with the test done within 72 hours prior to their flight.

CAAB came up with the strict measure to contain the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The regulatory authority also asked all the airlines operating to and from HSIA not to issue boarding passes to passengers if they do not have the Covid-19 negative certificates.

Recently the rate of incoming passengers without Covid-19 negative certificates has increased. In November alone, more than 4,000 passengers arrived without the certificate.

According to the health desk at HSIA, between 8am Saturday and 8am Sunday, more than 3,000 people arrived in Bangladesh via 20 flights of different airlines.

Chief Health Officer at HSIA, Dr Shahriar Sajjad said those who will not bring the Covid-19 negative certificates must stay in an institutional quarantine centre for 14 days.