Confusion at Dhaka airport over quarantine period for incoming passengers

Officials of the health desk and the Dhaka airport authority today gave contradictory statements on how many days a London-returnee passenger will have to stay in institutional quarantine.

As of now, a passenger coming from London has to stay in seven-day quarantine at his/her own cast.

But Dr Shariar Sazzad, in-charge of health desk, Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport told The Daily Star this afternoon that from now on anyone coming from abroad will have to stay in 14-day institutional quarantine at hotels listed by the government.

Contradicting Dr Sazzad, Group Captain AHM Touhid-Ul Ahsan, director of HSIA, told this correspondent that they are yet to get any instruction from the government about 14-day quarantine for incoming passengers.

Enamur Rashid, a doctor at the health desk of Dhaka airport, told this correspondent at 5:00pm that the government instruction on 14-day quarantine might reach them in a day or two.

Contradictory statements on the duration of quarantine have created confusion among passengers.

Earlier on December 28 last year, the government decided that all UK returnees must stay in 14-day institutional quarantine in the wake of the spread of a new variant of Covid-19 in the United Kingdom.

Later the duration of quarantine was reduced to seven days.