Coronavirus: Bangladesh restricts passengers from 4 countries

In a bid to control the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19), Bangladesh has restricted entry of people from four countries without medical certificates that clearly tell they are not virus-infected, reports BSS.

“Passengers from four countries – Italy, South Korea, Japan and Kuwait – can’t enter Bangladesh without medical certificates that say they are coronavirus-free,” Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) director professor Meerjady Sabrina Flora told a press conference at the IEDCR office in the city’s Mahakhali today.

If people from the four countries want to come to Bangladesh, they must come by applying for visas to Bangladesh embassies in their respective countries because Bangladesh is at the high risk of the virus outbreak in terms of travelling, she said.

Sabrina also said committees have been formed at three levels – national, district and upazila – to combat the outbreak of COVID-19.

The health and family welfare minister will lead the national committee as chairman while deputy commissioners (DCs) and upazila nirbahi officers (UNOs) will lead the district and upazila committees, she said, adding the civil surgeons of the respective districts will be in the committees.

Noting that Bangladesh has taken all cautionary measures to face the COVID-19, the official said residential hotels across the country have been warned of the virus and advised about their responsibilities in this regard.

“So far, four persons have come to us (IEDCR) on their own. We examined samples of 102 suspected people, including four on Tuesday, and another four still remain under observation. But none has been detected with Coronavirus," she added.

Mentioning that one Bangladeshi has been detected with Coronavirus in Italy, the official said the affected person is undergoing treatment at own house.

According to the latest information, the total number of COVID-19 affected people is 90,817 in 73 countries across the world while 130 people have been affected with the virus in the last 24 hours, Sabrina said, adding some 31 people died of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours.

The total number of COVID-19 affected people in 72 countries, except China, is 1,792 while 166 people, including 38 in the last 24 hours, died outside China.