MANAMA — Bahrain announced late Wednesday the lifting of the 10-day mandatory quarantine for travelers arriving in the country but said that testing to detect the coronavirus will continue until further notice. The move, which took effect on Thursday (Aug. 20), was recommended by a national medical committee for combating coronavirus in the kingdom after statistics showed that only 0.2 percent of the arriving passengers tested positive for the virus over the period from July 1 to Aug. 16, Bahrain News Agency reported. The committee also took the following decisions in the meeting which are subject to periodic reviews. • Compulsory COVID-19 PCR testing for all passengers arriving into Bahrain International Airport will remain intact • All incoming travelers are required to pay the cost of two COVID-19 tests, an arrival test, and a test to be conducted after their stay in Bahrain for 10 days, costing 60 Bahraini dinars ($160) per passenger. • All incoming passengers are required to download and activate the ‘BeAware Bahrain' application • The compulsory 10-day quarantine will be lifted for all incoming passengers who test negative, following their test upon arrival in Bahrain and being informed of the result • All incoming passengers must sign a declaration stating that they will follow the Ministry of Health's self-isolating regulations until their COVID-19 test carried out upon arrival in Bahrain is confirmed negative • Citizens and residents, as well as travelers staying for a duration longer than 10 days, must test again on the 10th day of their arrival • Travelers who test positive upon arrival will be contacted on the information provided to health authorities as they were tested • These decisions will be reviewed and amended as required to safeguard the health and well-being of all citizens and residents.
