* New clinics named in Germany, UK and Thailand as well as more testing facilities in Turkey
The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has announced a list of approved Covid-19 testing centres in four low-risk countries - Turkey, Germany, the UK and Thailand.
The MoPH had announced four accredited testing centres in Turkey earlier, and now it has added five more to that list.
Following are the approved testing centres in these four countries:
* Germany: All hospitals and clinics in Germany that perform the Covid-19 PCR-test and provide a certificate.
* Thailand: Vejthani Hospital; Bumrungrad Hospital and Bangkok Hospital.
* UK: Bupa Cromwell Hospital and Wellington Hospital.
* Turkey: Continuing with the previously announced hospitals - Ankara Sehir hospital, Ankara; Basaksehir Cam ve Sakura Sehir hospital - Istanbul; Kartal Dr Litfi Kirdar hospital- Istanbul; and Sakarya Universitesi Egitim Ve Aratrma Hastanesi (Sakarya University Education and Research Hospital); and adding the following centres - Istanbul Saglik Bilimleri Universitesi Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Egitim Ve Aratrma Hastanesi (Istanbul Health Sciences University Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Education and Research Hospital) - Istanbul; Cerrahpaa Hospital - Istanbul; Yavuz Selim Kemik Hastaliklari Ve Rehabilitasyon Hastanesi (Yavuz Selim Osteopathic and Rehabilitation Hospital) - Trabzon; Mugla Bodrum Devlet Hastanesi - Bodrum; and Antalya Egitim ve Aratrma Hastanesi - Antalya.
According to the revised quarantine policy announced by the Government Communications Office last month, arrivals to Qatar from low-risk countries are required to take a coronavirus test upon arrival at Hamad International Airport and sign a formal pledge to adhere to quarantine at home for a week, noting that the traveller’s status on the Ehteraz application will be yellow, which means that they are required to quarantine.
After the week has elapsed, the traveller must go to one of the dedicated health centres to get another coronavirus test. If the result is positive, the traveller will be transferred to isolation, and if it is negative, the quarantine period ends at the end of that week and the traveller’s status on the Ehteraz application will change to green.
If there are accredited Covid-19 testing centres in one of these low-risk countries, obtaining a Covid-free certificate from such a centre exempts the traveller from taking the test at the airport upon arrival in the country, provided the date of obtaining the certificate does not exceed 48 hours before travelling.
As Qatar continues to implement its travel policies, the list of low-risk countries is updated based on public health indicators in the country and around the world. The list is published on the MoPH website.
There are 40 countries on the current list, which came into effect on August 15. These are Hungary, Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Norway, Italy, Lithuania, Greece, Slovakia, Ireland, Germany, Slovenia, Denmark, Cyprus, United Kingdom, Poland, Austria, the Netherlands, Iceland, France, Croatia, Switzerland, Malta, Portugal, Czech Republic and Sweden (Europe); Brunei Darussalam, Thailand, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and Turkey (Asia); and Algeria and Morocco (Africa); Cuba and Canada (Americas); and New Zealand and Australia (Oceania).