AT last coronavirus infected patients have been traced in Bangladesh. Health officials on Sunday confirmed that three Bangladeshis have been infected with coronavirus (COVID-19). Of them, two recently returned from Italy. A family member of one of the two who returned from Italy was the third person affected with the virus. All three have been admitted to a hospital in Dhaka. The affected are aged between 20 and 35 years. Other three Bangladeshis who came in contact with the infected people have been quarantined. Institute of Epidemiology, Research and Disease Control (IEDCR) Director Prof Meerjady Sabrina Flora has urged people arriving from countries with coronavirus cases to avoid public transport and crowded places. But what’s true is that — with the arrival of COVID-19 infected people in Bangladesh, it has been proved blatantly how inadequate our precaution was in the airports and other entry points. How could the infected persons crossed the security barrier equipped with thermal cameras and heat sensors? Where were our health officials? That means there is no check, no precaution and no sense of responsibility among us.
Meanwhile, Kuwait announced a seven-day travel ban for people from Bangladesh and six other countries. Kuwait also banned entry of anyone who had been to Bangladesh or any of the six other countries in the last 14 days. The six other countries — Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka — have reported coronavirus cases. After the announcement, Biman Bangladesh Airlines has cancelled a flight to Kuwait scheduled for Saturday and another for Tuesday. We want to know one thing clearly from the government whether there are more coronavirus infected people in the country. The number of infected people should be known to the media and adequate precautionary measures must be ensured so that it can’t be spread to others. Why Kuwait imposed ban on us three days back if they hadn’t specific news of infection in Bangladesh? And after that we’ve come to know about the three infected persons.
There may be more infected persons in the country. We’ll not be surprised if government tries to suppress the fact because it is unprepared to deal with the deadly virus.
