Police increase screening of overseas returnees
Police are strictly monitoring across the country whether those who returned from different countries are maintaining the 14-day mandatory home-quarantine, UNB reports quoting a senior official.
The government on 14 March announced that people coming from coronavirus-infected countries would be in a compulsory 14-day quarantine and anyone violating the directive would face action.
Following the instruction, the police headquarters directed superintendents of police (SPs) of all the districts last week to monitor whether the returnees are maintaining the home-quarantine at their respective districts.
Contacted, assistant inspector general (AIG-media) of the police headquarters Masud Rana said local police are monitoring whether the returnees are maintaining the home-quarantine.
They are visiting all the houses where the returnees are staying after collecting their lists from the department concerned.
Over 20,000 returnees have been asked to maintain home-quarantine across the country till Monday.
Though most international flights to and from Bangladesh have been cancelled, people are still coming to the country on the limited flights that are in operation.
Immigration police at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport is stamping quarantine information on the hands of incoming passengers with irremovable ink to ensure that they remain in home-quarantine. The seals bear the date until which they will have to stay in home-quarantine.
Visiting homes of expatriates, local police are trying to ensure that they remain in self-isolation for 14 days, the AIG said. “Apart from discharging our duties, we’re assisting the local administration and local committees formed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus,” he said.
Sources at the health ministry said the government has already formed six committees to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The committees include a 31-member national committee headed by the health minister, a national technical committee headed by the director general of the directorate general of health services, two committees in each district headed by the respective deputy commissioner and two committees in every upazila headed by the respective upazila nirbahi officer.
Besides, a 500-member separate committee has been formed to tackle the coronavirus situation in the country. The committee has been formed with prominent doctors of Bangladesh Medical Association following a directive by prime minister Sheikh Hasina and committee will coordinate with the subcommittees of the DGHS.
Officer-in-charge of Sreenagar police station in Munshiganj told UNB that 55 returnees are in home-quarantine in the district. “We’re visiting every house where returnees are staying to ensure that they strictly comply with the government’s order. Locals, especially neighbours, are helping the police in this regard.”
Rifat Khan Rajib, officer-in-charge of Chowgachha police station in Jashore, said they are searching for the returnees to ensure that they are quarantined
Over 23,000 people returned home in Jashore from different countries in the last one month.
Of them, only 332 were sent to home-quarantine. Anisur Rahman, assistant director at Sylhet divisional health office, said a total of 1,747 people were quarantined at their homes in the division since March 10.
Of them, 67 people were released on Sunday on completion of the quarantine term.
The Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) on Monday said the number of death from the coronavrius in the country rose to three with the death of another person.
Besides, six more people, including a health worker, have been diagnosed with coronavirus as the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country has increased to 33.
On 8 March, the IEDCR announced for the first time the detection of three COVID-19 patients in Bangladesh.