CORONAVIRUS 312 quarantined to be released Friday: minister

Health minister Zahid Maleque said Wednesday that the 312 Bangladeshis, who were quarantined after their return from China, will be released on Friday.

He said none of them were found infected with the novel virus and they will be released from the Hajj Camp as their isolation period is going to pass two weeks, the incubation period of coronavirus.

The health minister said this while inaugurating a health camp at the Dhaka Reporters’ Unity on Wednesday.

Bangladesh brought back 312 Bangladeshis from Wuhan of China, the epicentre of the virus outbreak, on February 1.

They remain quarantined near the Dhaka airport.

Zahid Maleque said that no coronavirus patient was found in Bangladesh yet.

‘The government has taken all measures to prevent coronavirus,’ he said.

‘We’ve prepared the Kuwait-Bangladesh Friendship Hospital and three other hospitals if any patients found with coronavirus,’ he said.

Asking people not to be panicked, the minister said that the government was aware of those who have been infected with coronavirus in Singapore.

He also urged the expatriates in Singapore to stay aware about coronavirus.

Zahid Maleque said that they had instructed to monitor the passengers coming from Singapore.

Two Bangladeshi expatriates were infected with coronavirus in Singapore where the novel virus is spreading.

About 1.3 lakh Bangladeshis live in Singapore and regular flights between the two countries are also in operation.

About 50 people were infected with coronavirus in Singapore including the two Bangladeshis.

Singapore authorities quarantined 19 people including 10 Bangladeshis as they were in contacts with the infected coronavirus patients.

Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research director Meerjady Sabrina Flora said on Wednesday that those who were coming from Singapore should go for home quarantine.

She said regular screening of passengers were going on at airports but as Singapore becomes a cause of concern because of the rise of coronavirus patients in the country, the passengers should go for home quarantine.

If anything is suspected among them, they should contact the IEDCR, she said.

The number of fatalities from China’s new coronavirus epidemic jumped to 1,113 nationwide on Wednesday, reports Agence France-Presse quoting the national health commission of China.

More than 44,600 people have been confirmed as infected by the pathogen across China.

The new virus is believed to have emerged last year in a market that sells wild animals in Hubei’s capital Wuhan, the city at the centre of the outbreak.

The World Health Organisation has already declared a global health emergency over the spread of coronavirus that has spread to over two dozen countries besides China.

Bangladesh has prepared to face the growing menace with preventive measures, including screening at the ports of entry to Bangladesh.

Isolation units have been opened at all medical college hospitals and district hospitals across the country.  

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net