Dhaka, March 13 – A Bangladeshi, among the three infected patients, has recovered fully from the coronavirus infection, has returned home, Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) said on Friday adding that all the returnees from abroad were advised to stay indoors at least for 14 days. Otherwise, legal steps will be applicable. Meanwhile, additionally, at least 624 people in Dhaka, Chandpur and Barishal districts have been quarantined as part of precautionary measures to prevent the coronavirus from spreading across the country, as media reports said the number was 901 till Thursday.
At the meantime, the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh formed a special task force comprising several groups for the smooth operation of health screening of all inbound passengers at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) in Dhaka.
Again, Movement across Burimari land port to India have been halted from 5 pm yesterday as Indian immigration authorities of Changrabandha land port wrote to Bangladesh Burimari land port asking it not to allow any Bangladeshis to cross to India through the port in a bid to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
At IEDCR, Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) Director Prof Meerjady Sabrina Flora in a press briefing at the institute said, “Of the other two patients, among the three infected, one has not tested negative and another cured patient voluntarily staying at the hospital due to his/her family members are in-home quarantine.”
Dr Meerjady urged people with symptoms of coronavirus not to visit the IEDCR directly for treatment. She said, “If you have the symptoms then Call in our hotline numbers and asked for help.” she further said, people, coming from abroad have been requested to be in self-quarantine. Their families, neighbours and friends have been requested to help them. Otherwise, they will be punished according to the law of the country.
“Those who returned from overseas must stay in your rooms for at least 14 days. We see in many cases that they are not living in the quarantine. We’ve requested for so long, but they do not comply with the government’s sympathetic step. So, now we can apply the Epidemic Disease Act.,” said Dr Meerjady.
She further remarked that 24 people have been tested in the last 24 hours. With that, 187 people have been tested in total in Bangladesh. No one tested positive.
“Those who work in the middle east do not need any health certificate to go to Saudi Arabia. The Saudi High Commission said they should go by direct flights, not take any transit,” she added. The Middle East and other countries have assured that they will extend the work permit and visa. So those who work there need not worry.
At Chandpur, the district administration asked 608 people to home quarantine as they returned from abroad. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Chandpur, Mohammad Abdullah Al Mahmud Zaman confirmed the information and said, “They have been kept under observation in their respective houses after their return from abroad as part of precautionary measures to prevent the coronavirus from spreading.”
In Barishal, Fifteen people including four Chinese workers have been placed under home quarantine. The four Chinese workers arrived at their workplace in Kalapara on Thursday. They have been working at the Payra Thermal Power Project at Kalapara in Patuakhali.
The remaining 11 are expatriates returned to Bangladesh during the last 12 days from different countries including Italy, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Netherlands and Singapore.
Four of them arrived in Dhaka from Italy on March 2, including a woman and a child. They went to their respective village in Gournadi Upazila a week later.
According to Barisal Divisional Health Department, all these people have been placed at home quarantine to avoid the risk of coronavirus infection.
“They have been advised not to meet other family members during the quarantine period,” said Basudev Kumar Das, deputy director of Barishal divisional office of the Health Directorate.
“The Chinese citizens have been forced to stay in a separate building in the Payra Thermal Project area. They will return to work if there are no symptoms of coronavirus after 14 days. The doctors of Upazila Health Complex are closely monitoring them,” he added.
In Dhaka, A Bangladeshi man who landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport from the Maldives has been sent to the hospital to be quarantined.
“A Bangladeshi passenger who came from the Maldives through the Sri Lankan airlines this noon was sent to the hospital for quarantine as he had a high temperature,” Group Captain AHM Touhid-ul-Ahsan said.
Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh formed a special taskforce for the smooth operation of health screening of all inbound passengers at HSIA. The task force will oversee the health screening activities at the airport round the clock, said Group Captain AHM Touhid-ul Ahsan, who is also the Director of HSIA. Touhid has been made the chief of the taskforce.
Each task force will be comprised of 20 Ansar members, five supervisors and two inspectors, said Touhid.
Meanwhile, in a letter, the Changrabandha land port authorities informed their Burimari counterparts that no passenger from Bangladesh will be allowed to visit India through the land port from 5:00 pm yesterday. But Indians staying in Bangladesh with valid passports will be able to return home and Bangladeshis staying in India with valid passports will be allowed to come home through the channel, the letter said. The ban will remain effective until further notice. – Staff Reporter
