Qatar sets rules for arrivals from six Asian countries including SL

Qatar has updated its travel policy for passengers arriving from six Asian countries, including Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan, instituting mandatory hotel quarantine for them, Gulf News reported.

Starting from Monday, arrivals from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines and Sri Lanka who have got vaccinated or recovered from Covid-19 in Qatar will go into two-day hotel quarantine, the Health Ministry said.

Those passengers will be allowed to leave the quarantine if the result of the virus-detecting PCR testing is negative.

Other arrivals from these countries will have to go into hotel quarantine for 10 days, according to the ministry.

Qatar, a country of 2.7 million people including 2.3 million expatriates, initiated mass vaccinations against the virus on December 23.

Health authorities there have authorised using vaccines of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Sinopharm. Last month, Qatar’s Interior Ministry announced resuming the issuance of tourist and family entry visas.