Returnees from China to remain under observation: Foreign minister
Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen on Wednesday said the government will keep those who will return to Bangladesh from China under observation to avoid any risk, reports UNB.
“We’re not delaying. We’re fully ready to bring them (Bangladesh citizens) back once China allows,” he told newsmen adding that the government does not want to see the transmission of coronavirus in other places.
The minister said the Chinese government remains very strict in following the 14-day quarantine period and did not even accept the proposals of Japan and the USA to take back their nationals.
China is willing to stay in communication with other countries in order to properly handle the issues related to prevention and control of the novel coronavirus, 2019-nCoV, said Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi.
WHO to Help Keep People Safe
The World Health Organization (WHO) will keep working with China and all other countries to keep people safe, says UN Secretary General's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.
WHO will send a team of international experts in China as soon as possible to work with their Chinese counterparts to increase understanding of the outbreak to guide global response efforts, he said.
WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is in Beijing now, met Chinese president Xi Jinping on Tuesday, said the spokesperson in a regular briefing at the UN headquarters in New York.
Tedros noted that the WHO is working closely with the Chinese government on the measures to understand the virus and limit its transmission.
On Tuesday, Momen said the government, as directed by the prime minister Sheikh Hasina, will bring back Bangladesh citizens, willing to return from Wuhan city of China, once China lifts the ongoing 14-day restriction.
The foreign minister said the government remains cautious but not panicked. “We don’t want to create any panic.”
Meanwhile, state minister for foreign affairs M Shahriar Alam urged the Bangladesh citizens in China to strictly follow the Chinese government’s instructions without any deviation until the 14-day quarantine period ends.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, he urged the families and relatives in Bangladesh to convey the message to their relatives living in China and encourage them to follow the instructions.
The state minister said the registration process for those who are willing to return from China has already started.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Embassy in Beijing has opened a hotline number + (86)-17801116005 for Bangladeshis. There are about 400-500 Bangladeshi students in Wuhan, the foreign ministry said.
Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, is at the centre of the outbreak. The city is in lockdown and China has imposed travel bans on a number of other cities.
Health minister Zahid Maleque on Tuesday said there is nothing to worry about coronavirus as no such patient has been detected in Bangladesh yet.