The much-awaited RT-PCR labs to conduct Covid-19 tests for the departing passengers will go into full-scale operation at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport  on Tuesday. Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) Chairman Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman announced this after launching the RT-PCR labs on experimental basis at the airport on Saturday. Read: Covid testing at Dhaka airport to begin on Saturday, says health minister State Minster for Civil Aviation and Tourism M Mahbub Ali, Secretary Mokammel Hossain and Chairman of Bangladesh Tourism Corporation Hannan Mia were, among others, present. The United Arab Emirates has imposed a condition that the passengers travelling to the UAE will have to conduct Covid-19 test at the airport 48 hours or 6-hours before departing the country, said the CAAB Chairman. “We have taken an initiative to launch the RT-PCR lab inside the airport with coordination of the Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, Health and Foreign Ministries and the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) conducted a test operation today,” he said.   “If the test-run goes successfully, then we will inform the airlines authorities and for this we need 48 hours and we hope those will start full-scale operation from September 28,” he added. There will be 12 machines installed at the 6 labs at the airport. At least 3-4.5 thousand people will be able to test at these labs every day. Read: Covid in Bangladesh: 24 die in 24 hours, lowest since May 15

RT-PCR labs across Bangladesh conducted 2,001,431 coronavirus tests until Monday morning and 370,132 of those (18.49 percent) turned out to be positive.

The confirmed coronavirus tally in Bangladesh reached 368,690 on Sunday after health authorities recorded 1,125 new cases in 24 hours.

Bangladesh on Saturday reported 20 more deaths in 24 hours which is the lowest daily number of fatalities recorded in a day since May 28 when the country saw 15 deaths.