BD removed from India’s ‘at-risk’ list over Omicron

Dhaka: India has removed Bangladesh from its list of “at-risk” countries set over Omicron fears.

Earlier, India issued a list of “at-risk” countries as an early attempt to halt the transmission of the new coronavirus variant Omicron first identified in South Africa.

The move by New Delhi came following requests by Dhaka, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said on November 30.

"Due to request, India High Commission has informed that Bangladesh has been removed from the Red List of India," read a message from the minister.

On November 29, India stepped up tests for flyers from several countries amid global concerns over Omicron.

The other countries flagged as “at-risk” are the UK, South Africa, Brazil, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong and Israel, and the entirety of Europe.

As per the guidelines issued by the Health Ministry, passengers travelling from or transiting through the listed countries would have to undergo an RT-PCR test on arrival in India and would be required to wait for the results before leaving the airport or taking a connecting flight.

Travellers who test positive will be taken to a medical facility for isolation, where they need to stay till they test negative if they are infected by the Omicron variant. If they are infected by any other variants, their release will be at the discretion of a doctor based on conditions.

People who test negative after coming from the listed countries, will need to be in home quarantine and take another test on the eighth day. If they are positive, they will need to report to the Covid-19 helpline, the guidelines said.

These travellers will also have to declare their travel history for the preceding 14 days.

With the Omicron variant of the coronavirus emerging in at least nine countries across the world till November 28, the health authorities in Bangladesh issued a set of directives to prevent the variant from coming into the country.