RT-PCR Covid testing yet to begin at HSIA

The United Arab Emirates-bound passengers failed to avail of Covid-19 tests through RT-PCR laboratories at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Saturday though the health minister on earlier announced that the tests would begin on the day.

The minister had made the announcement while visiting the airport’s Terminal 2 on Thursday for setting up the six private laboratories. He said that a total of 12 RT-PCR machines will be set up in six laboratories.

There was crowd of Middle East-bound passengers at the airport to learn about the pre-departure testing situation on Saturday.

One of them, Mostafizur Rahman, a Qatar-bound this passenger, told The Business Post on Saturday that as he inquired about the tests, the airport authorities suggested him go to other government-approved laboratories in Dhaka.

The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) on Saturday said six RT-PCR laboratories are ready to conduct pre-departure Covid testing for the UAE-bound passengers. Dr Nasima Sultana, Additional Director General of the DGHS, confirmed it to The Business Post on Saturday evening.

She said now passengers can take a pre-departure test at the six laboratories at the airport.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh officials said a monitoring cell and technical committee of the DGHS led by Dr Nasima Sultana visited the airport to look into the technical aspects of these Covid-19 testing machines. The committee found everything to be okay after conducting a final trial of the laboratories, they added.

On Wednesday evening, 46 Bangladesh expatriates left Dhaka for the UAE through a much-anticipated Covid-19 test on a mobile RT-PCR laboratory mounted on a van outside the airport.

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

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 the airport.

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

Zainul Haque Sikder Women’s Medical College Hospital was later excluded from the list as it did not send its standard operating procedure to the UAE authorities.

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.