BANGLADESH procured seven thermal scanners in 2014 for screening travellers at the ports of entry but six of them are out of order now. After the coronavirus infection has broken out in China, Bangladesh has been facing a challenge to screen the passengers to know if they have high temperatures.
In this situation, the government requested the World Health Organisation to provide 10 thermal scanners. Currently, the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research was screening travellers at the ports of entry in an alternative way by using hand-held temperature scanners.
When even the Chinese ambassador in Bangladesh has recently voiced concern over the proper screening of the travellers at the airports one wonders if everything is going on smoothly. There are 29 ports of entry to Bangladesh and people are entering the country after going through the health check up organised by the IEDCR.
But we know that at least some people who acquire the virus are asymptomatic. So unless everyone who comes from abroad is quarantined voluntarily for at least 14 days there is no way of knowing whether one is a carrier or not. So the fact that the government has installed isolation centres for coronavirus cases at the medical college hospitals and district hospitals across the country does not inspire confidence that adequate measures are being taken.
The only options for complete screening are to screen travellers who are coming in for the most affected countries–like China, Iran, and others. While countries like China and the US are taking full preparations for an epidemic we dont have anything close to a national health policy to tackle the situation.
Travellers coming into Bangladesh report an almost lackadaisical attitude in the ports of entry. People are not separated into their ports of origin and thermal scanning is not thorough. Since COVID-19 is not only asymptomatic but also pre-symptomatic its entirely possible that the virus can escape into others through the environment. Its also possible that people can continue to shed the virus weeks after they have recovered–although more tests are needed to confirm that. We can only hope that we dont have to find out that the hard way.
Our worry is no ministry has shown competence for the people to believe what the ministers say. We asked the government not to play lying game with lives of the people. Seek WHO’s help for experts to be sent.
