Britain has eased travel restrictions for fully vaccinated Bangladeshi travelers who have received jabs of a vaccine authorized by the country. Besides Bangladesh, 47 other countries and territories including India figure in the list of countries from whom the UK would accept vaccine certification from Oct 11.

Bangladesh will be added to the list of countries and territories with approved proof of vaccination on Oct 11, the UK's transport authority announced.

“Bangladesh vaccine certification is now recognized by British authorities. Our Mission contacted them and described our processes and now they recognize our vaccine certification, which will be effective from 4 am Oct 11, 2021,” Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said on Friday.

However, travelers arriving in England before that date must follow the rules for people who are not fully vaccinated.

Passengers returning to England from these countries will no longer be required to enter hotel quarantine, the Department for Transport said on Thursday.

Vaccination certificates issued by relevant Bangladesh authorities are also required for all travelers as proof of vaccination status, according to bdnews24.com.

The travelers who have not been fully vaccinated with UK-approved vaccines must quarantine for 10 days, either at home or where they are staying, and should undergo a day 2 and day 8 Covid test.

The travelers must have a complete course of Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson's Janssen Covid-19 vaccines at least 14 days before their arrival in England.

Formulations of these vaccines, such as AstraZeneca Covishield, AstraZeneca Vaxzevria and Moderna Takeda, also qualify as approved vaccines, the UK authorities said.

Earlier on Sept 17, Bangladesh was taken off from England’s COVID-19 red list after it announced a major relaxing of travel rules for people coming in and out of the country.

Meanwhile, Bahrain has also decided to remove Bangladesh from its red list of countries, starting from 10 October 2021, according to Momen.

The UK had earlier refused to accept India’s vaccine certification but did an about-turn after New Delhi announced a 10-day mandatory quarantine for travelers from the UK stepping into its soil.

 (SAM)