SEVERE action has been urged against Bahrainis travelling to Covid-19 red-list countries by allegedly cheating the system.
The call came after several Bahrainis reportedly visited Iraq over the past few days to take part in religious rituals.
The Civil Aviation Affairs has declared 25 countries as being on the red list. They are Iraq, Mozambique, Myanmar, Georgia, Ukraine, Malawi, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Mongolia, Namibia, Mexico, Tunisia, Iran, South Africa, Indonesia, the Philippines, Panama, Malaysia, Uganda, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and the Dominican Republic.
Iraq has been reporting an average of 8,000 cases of the coronavirus daily.
Mr Al Kadhem
Al Kadhem Transport Tourist Travels board vice-chairman and partner Mahmood Al Kadhem said it was unethical of people to cheat the system by travelling to a green list destination and then to red list countries.
“I understand it is easy to cheat the system and go anywhere, but irresponsible individuals should think about the lives of their loved ones and the local community, even if they don’t care about their own lives.
“For us, as travel agents, we want to make business, but going to dangerous spots is unethical; flights to Iraq are a gold mine, but they have been stopped until the Covid-19 situation there is managed.
“We fear that people who travelled to Iraq or any other red list country would encourage others to go there in the upcoming days and this needs immediate and serious attention.”
Mr Al Kadhem is also managing director and chief executive of Bahrain Holidays – which represents a coalition of more than 130 travel agencies offering group trips.
“Rogue worshippers travel to Turkey or Oman and from there they travel to Iraq, which doesn’t show in the system after the UAE allowed Bahrain tracking access,” said Mr Al Kadhem.
“If someone wants to travel, then they need to travel to a clean country, or a country that is managing Covid-19 cases.”
Mr Al Thawadi
Meanwhile, Parliament foreign affairs, defence and national security committee member Yousif Al Thawadi said cheating the system also meant these individuals were not spending time in quarantine as required.
“Whether it is a religious or a leisure trip, choosing red list countries is wrong and returning without any regard to public health is a bigger wrong.
“When things improve travel to the red list countries will resume, but currently going through Turkey or Oman, and arriving in Bahrain simply is a health hazard that requires action.
“Putting pictures and videos on Instagram and Snapchat is unacceptable defiance.”
Mr Al Tamimi
Southern Municipal Council chairman Bader Al Tamimi said showing off on social media after reaching Iraq or any other country reflects a rebellious attitude.
“A lot of people want to travel, especially to Iraq, the most popular destination amongst the lot, but showing the country that we have reached despite the ban is a rebellious attitude that needs to be met with punishment.
“This will lead to more defiance and the situation of Covid-19 getting out of control, which undermines all efforts.”
mohammed@gdn.com.bh
&uuid=(email))