Staff Reporter :
The US embassy in Dhaka has issued a health and travel alert for its citizens in Bangladesh amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The embassy remains open for business, it noted in an alert message on the website on Saturday.
Citing that news of any travel options will be shared whenever available, the US embassy requested its citizens to enroll in Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive Embassy Bangladesh updates: https://step.state.gov/.
The embassy asked the citizens to consult its website (https://bd.usembassy.gov/)?for additional information on the situation in Bangladesh and the Department of State’s COVID-19 page on travel.state.gov for the latest information. Bangladesh government has taken measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 and announced a general holiday period from March 29 to April 14, according to the statement.
Bangladeshi government offices and private sector organisations will largely remain closed until April 14 and the government has advised everyone to stay home during this period. Hospitals, pharmacies, and food stores will remain open. Public transportation and banking services are limited. The Bangladesh Army has been deployed to enforce social distancing measures, it said.
Until April 07, all scheduled international commercial passenger flights from Bahrain, Bhutan, Hong Kong, India, Kuwait, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, and United Arab Emirates (UAE) shall not be allowed to land at any international airport in Bangladesh, the statement cited.
The US embassy has arranged a special chartered flight for its citizens and their families wishing to return to the United States which will depart on April 05, it said.
Registration for this flight has ended and it is unclear whether the embassy will be able to secure future chartered flights. US citizens wishing to return to the United States should continue monitoring commercial flight schedules once commercial flights resume, the embassy statement added.
“For the most recent information on what you can do to reduce your risk of contracting COVID-19, please see the CDC’s latest recommendations,” the statement requested.
The embassy also urged its citizens to visit its embassy webpage on COVID-19 for information on conditions in Bangladesh.
As coronavirus cases continue to rise in Bangladesh, a good number of US citizens and their families were scheduled to leave the country for home by a special chartered flight on Sunday evening.
The US Department of State and US Embassy in Dhaka made arrangements for the flight that would start for Washington at 6pm, said the US Embassy in Dhaka.
This flight will include a Dhaka to Doha, Qatar leg and an onward connecting flight to Dulles International Airport, Washington, DC. Passengers will remain on the airplane in Doha, the US mission said earlier.
However, the flight was not free and all passengers must reimburse the US government, it added.
Earlier, 269 US citizens left Bangladesh on another special flight.
