Special flights to Kuwait, Bahrain from 25 April

Special flights for Kuwait and Bahrain-bound Bangladeshi migrant workers stuck in the country due to suddenly imposed corona lockdown will be operated from April 25.

The decision was taken in an inter-ministerial meeting on Thursday night for the sake of hundreds of desperate migrants waiting to go their workplaces in those two Middle Eastern countries, said a press release.

The migrant workers are waiting to return to their workplaces since 5 April when the government imposed the countrywide lockdown to contain the sudden spike of coronavirus infections.

Earlier, the government allowed operating special flights to five countries for the migrants.                                               

According to the release, the inter-ministerial meeting also decided to shorten the institutional quarantine mandatory for foreign returnees.

The quarantine period has been shortened from 14 days to 5 days as selected quarantine venue could not cope with the pressure of foreign returnees.

It was decided at the inter-ministerial meeting that those who have received two doses of corona vaccine and have a corona negative certificate will be spared of the institutional quarantine. They will go home and complete a 14-day home quarantine. The local administration will monitor this.

It was further decided that those who have taken one dose of corona vaccine and have corona negative certificate will be sent to a 3-day mandatory institutional quarantine. After three days, they will be tested for Covid-19. If the report comes negative, he/she will be allowed to go home on the condition that they would complete the remaining 11 days in home quarantine.

Meanwhile, stranded Bangladeshis in India can return through using land port, the release said, adding that the India-returnees have to complete 14-day mandatory quarantine which will be monitored by local administration.

The meeting was presided over by the foreign minister Dr AK Abdul Momen.