The Government Communications Office (GCO) has announced new quarantine policies for those entering Qatar, and this has come into effect.
Arrivals to Qatar from ‘low-risk’ countries
For arrivals to Qatar from low-risk countries, the GCO said that people will have to undergo Covid-19 test on arrival at the airport, provided, they obtain a Covid-19 negative certificate from an accredited Covid-19 testing centre abroad less than 48 hours prior to travel.
The travellers will then have to sign a formal pledge to adhere to home quarantine for one week, and the traveller’s status on the Ehtraz app will be yellow.
After a week, the arrivals will have to visit a dedicated health centre for Covid-19 test. If the test result is positive, the traveller will be transferred to isolation facilities. If it is negative, the quarantine period will end, and the traveller’s status on the Ehtraz application will change to green.
Arrivals to Qatar from other countries
For arrivals to Qatar from other countries other than low-risk countries, and without accredited Covid-19 testing facilities, the GCO said that the people should remain in mandatory quarantine in a hotel at their own expense for seven days, booked through ‘Discover Qatar’ prior to their arrival in Qatar.
They will be tested for Covid-19 a week after their arrival at the hotel. If found positive, the traveller will be shifted to isolation facilities. If negative, the hotel period ends and the traveller will have to stay in home quarantine for another week, before their status on Ehtraz app turns green at the end of the week.
List of low-risk countries:
According to the GCO, the list of low-risk countries includes Vietnam, Brunei, Thailand, China, Malta, Malaysia, South Korea, Estonia, Denmark, Lituania, Slovakia, Latvia, Ireland, Cyprus, Japan, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, UK, Slovenia, Canada, Australia, France, Poland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Andorra, Croatia, Spain, Iceland, Algeria, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Morocco, Greece, Turkey, Belgium.
The list of low-risk countries may change upon discretion of the Public Health Ministry, and people can visit the website for latest updates.
