New Delh: Day after Bangladesh reported three confirmed cases of coronavirus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was expected to visit Dhaka next week, cancelled his trip, reported news agency ANI.
PM Modi was expected to attend the the grand ceremony of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s birth centenary on March 17. According to ANI, the event has also been cancelled by Bangladesh.
This comes a day after Bangladesh confirmed its first batch of coronavirus cases. Three people, two of whom had recently returned from Italy, tested positive for COVID-19, said Bangladesh authorities.
Director of the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) Meerjady Sabrina Flora said that two of the three infected — all aged between 20 and 35– are men while the third is a woman while adding that three other people, who were in close contact with the infected trio, have also been quarantined.
“For the past few days, IEDCR has been emphasising cautiousness and improvement of personal hygiene,” Flora said, as quoted by news agency ANI.
Amid the surging coronavirus threat, Bangladesh government has also urged its people who are returning from six countries, including China, Italy, South Korea, Singapore, Iran and Thailand, to remain in self-quarantine for 14 days.
Passengers arriving from these countries are being screened through thermal scanners at the airport, said Health Officer at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, Mohammad Shahriar Sazzad, adding that they are provided with health declaration forms where they give health-related information.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also urged the people not to be worried over coronavirus as the country was capable enough to tackle this disease.
So far, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 107,000 people have been affected by coronavirus in at least 100 countries around the world, since the virus spread from China’s Wuhan city at the end of December last year.
(With ANI inputs)
