Institute of Epidemiology, Diseases Control and Research (IEDCR) today said no new coronavirus (COVID-19) case was detected in the past 24 hours since it announced the first three cases in Bangladesh while the condition of the three infected persons were stable as they were being monitored at a city hospital.
“The conditions of three persons those tested positive with COVID-19 are stable in hospital, no new cases have been found in the country… there is no need to take any measures to shut down educational institutions as the situation is still normal,” IEDCR Director Dr Meerjady Sabrina Flora said at a press briefing at IEDCR auditorium in the city’s Mohakhali area today.
Director General of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Prof Abul Kalam Azad, World Health Organization (WHO) representative in the country Dr Bardan Jung Rana and Principal Scientific Officer of IEDCR Dr ASM Alamgir were present at the briefing, local media reported.
Prof Azad at the briefing said separate units will be opened at public hospitals across the country, while separate cells will be opened in private hospitals.
He also urged all not to get involved in the chaos regarding face masks and hand sanitizers, adding, shortage of these products will be mitigated very soon.
DGHS chief urged people not to panic and not to spread any rumors regarding this.
Ensuring all kind of support from WHO, its country representative Dr Rana hoped Bangladesh will set an example in tackling the virus by its all out effort.
Emphasizing on self quarantine, IEDCR Director Dr Meerjady Sabrina Flora suggested foreign returnees to stay in the self quarantine. They should not be humiliated by anyone, Flora requested.
“We all have to act responsibly and should not be over curious. There is no reason to assume that anyone coming from abroad is infected with the coronavirus,” she said.
Requesting people to be sympathized with the family members and neighbours of foreign returnees, Dr Flora said, “We are repeatedly saying that all the people returning from other countries are not infected with the coronavirus. We are continuously saying this because those coming from abroad are facing odd situations here,”
Speakers at the briefing also urged not to spread any kind of wrong information and fear in the country through social media.
People also asked to contact four hotline numbers - 01937110011, 01937000911, 01927711784 and 01927711785 – to solve any type of confusion or support.
On Sunday (Mar 8), IEDCR confirmed three Bangladeshis, two male and one female, have been detected with coronavirus (COVID-19). Among the three, two of them had returned from Italy recently, she said Sunday.
Earlier on Mar 4, in a bid to control the spread of COVID-19, the government restricted the entry of people from four countries — Italy, South Korea, Japan and Kuwait — without the virus-free medical certificates.
