Bahrain to send back 347 workers this week

NEWS DESK

Bahrain is going to send back 347 Bangladeshi workers, including detainees, this week, sources in the Bangladesh embassy in Manama said.

Of them, 300 Bangladeshis were released from jail by the Bahrain government in March last as part of a move to reduce the jail population in order to stop the spread of Coronavirus.

Another 47 Bangladeshis will return voluntarily under the general amnesty declared by the Bahrain government recently, embassy officials said.

Talking to the FT TEAM, Sheikh Mohammed Tauhidul Islam, first secretary at the Bangladesh embassy in Bahrain, said the workers will be repatriated to the country soon.

The embassy has completed necessary procedures to send the workers back home, he said, adding that the relevant departments and ministries in Bangladesh are also making preparation to receive the workers and provide quarantine facilities.

When asked about the date of repatriation, Mr Islam said the workers could be send back by a flight on April 26 or 27.

Still, a good number of Bangladeshis are serving jail terms in the Middle Eastern country. The workers who have already served one third of their jail terms are generally being freed.

Workers would be repatriated to Bangladesh by chartered flights arranged by the Bahrain government, officials involved in the process said.

After their return, the migrant workers would be screened at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport before being sent into quarantine, they said.

A recent inter-ministerial meeting decided to quarantine all Bangladeshis on their return home.

After screening at the airport, the migrants who are physically fit will be quarantined at Hajj camps for 14 days and sick migrants will be sent to the designated hospitals.

So far, 97 Bangladeshi nationals have been infected with Covid-19 in Bahrain. However, none of the Bangladeshis died of coronavirus in this Middle East country. And about 2,000 Bangladeshis have been brought under quarantine facilities.

Bahrain identified 2,217 coronavirus cases, of which eight people died and 1,082 recovered as of Friday, according to the worldometers.

About 200,000 Bangladeshis are staying in Bahrain. Most of them have been working in the construction sector.

Apart from construction sector, Bangladeshis are also engaged in sectors like cleaning, driving, agriculture and plantation.