Bangladeshi expats queue up to benefit from COVID-19 subsidy

Bangladeshi expats queue up to benefit from COVID-19 subsidy

DHAKA: The government of Bangladesh will provide $300 to each migrant worker traveling to Saudi Arabia to cover expenses related to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) measures after their arrival in the Kingdom as part of a $3.5 million initiative to extend financial support, officials said on Tuesday. These include costs incurred for tests and mandatory hotel quarantine stay, with authorities saying they had received more than 500 applications since Monday. "We started receiving the applications Monday, and workers will receive the subsidy amount of $300 in their designated bank accounts after their arrival in Saudi Arabia,“ Mohammed Sarwar Alam, senior assistant secretary at the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, told Arab News. He added that workers who had traveled to the Kingdom before the initiative was launched would be compensated as well, by either submitting the reimbursement forms to the Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh or the Bangladesh Consulate General in Jeddah by June 30. Last month, Saudi Arabia issued a travel advisory citing the need for mandatory quarantine for all passengers traveling to the Kingdom between May 20 and June 30 from non-restricted countries, including Bangladesh. According to government data, at least 145,000 migrant workers have traveled to the