COVID-19: Bahrain mandates 10-day quarantine for travellers from India

The Bahraini National Medical Taskforce for Combating COVID-19 has updated precautionary measures for incoming travellers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

All travellers transiting or arriving from the aforementioned countries into Bahrain are subjected to a self-quarantine for 10 days at their own residence or in a hotel approved by the National Health Regulatory Authority. The travellers are also to present a negative COVID PCR certificate with the QR code taken within 48 hours of departure from the three countries.

The National Taskforce has advised passengers to take three PCR tests upon entry, in which the first test is conducted on arrival and the second five days later and the final one on the 10th day of arrival in the Kingdom.

Meanwhile, Bahrain on Tuesday announced its decision to vaccinate adolescents aged 12-17 with two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, state-run news agency BNA reported. The move comes subsequent to recommendations by the World Health Organization's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization and the United States' Center for Disease Control, BNA added.

The vaccine doses will be administered in the presence of a caretaker or with their approval, BNA reported. Authorities have called on for registering for the vaccines on the website healthalert.gov.bh with guardian consent as soon as the service is made available.

Six covid vaccines, including China's Sinopharm, Pfizer Inc and BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, and Russia's Sputnik and Sputnik-Light, have been authorized in the country.

Expats trapped in Nepal as travel ban extended

Thousands of Indian travellers to Saudi Arabia have been stranded in Kathmandu as Nepal extended its ban on international flights up to May 31. The new travel regulations were put in place in light of the sudden increase in COVID cases in the country.

Travellers passing through Nepal are required to undergo a mandatory 15-day quarantine before passing on to their next destination. Due to the extended ban, many Indian expats are now trapped with little to no recourse for money for their daily needs as their packages will soon expire.

The travellers pass through Nepal on their way to Saudi Arabia as no direct flights are available from India.