46 expatriates off to UAE after RT-PCR test at HISA

A total of 46 Bangladesh expatriates have departed for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after being tested negative for Covid-19 by a mobile RT-PCR lab at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Wednesday evening.

“A mobile lab at the airport completed the tests within one hour after receiving samples from the expatriates,” HSIA Heath Desk In-charge Dr Shariar Sazzad told The Business Post.

“If the United Arab Emirates accepts the Bangladeshi RT-PCR lab tests as authentic, then we can send thousands of expatriates using RT-PCR reports from six laboratories approved by the government,” he added.

Meanwhile, RT-PCR testing laboratories will be set up at the men’s prayer room on the ground floor of Terminal-1 of the airport within Saturday to facilitate expatriate workers and travellers.

Samples will be collected from the second floor of the same building from a room which is now being used as a godown, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) sources say.

According to the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has made it mandatory for passengers from Bangladesh to depart within six hours of taking an RT-PCR test at the airport.

Renovation works of the allocated space for the laboratories will be completed soon. The government approved companies will then set up their laboratories on Saturday.

Earlier on September 14, the health ministry approved seven private laboratories to set up RT-PCR booths to test outgoing passengers for Covid-19 at HSIA.

Already, six out of seven of these private laboratories have already sent their Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to the UAE for approval.

The six approved private laboratories are — Gulshan Clinic Limited, Stemz Health Care (BD) Limited Dhaka, CSBF Health Centre, AMZ Hospital Limited, Anwar Khan Modern Medical College Hospital (AKMMCH), and DMFR Molecular Lab and Diagnostics.

Only Zainul Haque Sikder Women’s Medical College Hospital did not send its SOP, which resulted in its exclusion from the UAE list.

Meanwhile, sources at the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh said that the authority was now awaiting response from the UAE for its approval against the SOPs submitted.

They also said even if any of the government approved companies do not meet UAE’s requirements, they will still be able to operate inside the airport for other international destinations.

The expatriates’ welfare ministry has fixed the test fees. The laboratories would enable passengers to undergo Covid-19 tests at the booths by paying a minimum of Tk 1,700 to a maximum of Tk 2,300.