Bangladeshis returning from 6 countries urged to be self-quarantined

In a bid to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the government has urged Bangladeshis returning from six countries -- China, Italy, South Korea, Singapore, Iran and Thailand -- to be self-quarantined for 14 days.

“Bangladeshis coming from these six countries have been urged to remain in self-isolation at their respective homes if they’ve no symptom of fever. But if anyone is found to have 100 degrees Fahrenheit during health checkup at airport, he/she will be kept at the quarantine centre at Kuwait Maitree Hospital,” Mohammad ShahriarSazzad, health officer at HazratShahjalal International Airport, told UNB on Sunday.

Passengers arriving from these six countries are being screened through thermal scanners at the airport, he said, adding that they are provided with health declaration forms where they give health-related information.

Three coronavirus infected patients have been detected in Bangladesh, said Prof Meerjady Sabrina Flora, director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), on Sunday.

She came up with the information at a press briefing at IEDCR.

Coronavirus, which was first reported in China’s Wuhan, has infected more than 100,000 people and killed over 3,400.