Amdadul Haque
Amid countrywide public concern for spread of coronavirus, a thermal scanner that was being used to check body temperature to detect coronavirus at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport broke down on Monday night due to overcrowding of passengers. Confirming the matter Group Captain AHM Touhid Ul Ahsan, director of the airport, told The Bangladesh Post on Tuesday that the matter has been reported to the health department. This will be fixed again when the health department sends the mechanics.
"There is only one scanner working now, which is at the VIP terminal. Handheld machine is being used to check body temperature at the other terminals," he added.
He also said that travelers coming to Bangladesh from six countries-- China, Italy, South Korea, Iran, Singapore and Thailand- should be in quarantine if they are found with signs of coronavirus. The thermal scanner broke down on Monday night due to crowd pressure.
Airport sources said that Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport has three thermal scanners. One of these was damaged earlier. Another was damaged on Monday. Now only one is working. Mohammad Shahriar Sajjad, health officer of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, said passengers from six countries are being tested on thermal scanners at the airport. At the same time, the body temperature is being measured with the scanner.
He said that if any passenger's body temperature is higher than 100 degrees Fahrenheit during the health check-up at the airport, he or she would be placed directly in the quarantine hospital at Kuwait Moitri Hospital. There are three thermal scanners at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. Of these — one is at the VIP terminal and the other two are at the normal arrival lounge. The thermal scanner at the VIP terminal and one of the two thermal scanners at the normal arrival lounge were damaged. But the other one was somehow working, now that has been broken.
5 new to install
Meanwhile, 5 new thermal scanners have been supplied to international airports and land ports across the country. The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has supplied these 5 new thermal scanners. The DGHS has supplied 2 thermal scanners to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and another 3 thermal scanners to Shah Amanat International Airport, Osmani International Airport and Benapole land port.
Three Covid-19 (corona virus) patients have been identified in Bangladesh, the Department of Health, Disease Control and Research Institute (IEDCR) has confirmed. One of the victims is a woman and two are men. Two of them are Italian and they are between the ages of 20 and 35 years.
With three confirmed diagnoses of coronavirus infection in Bangladesh, the government is now taking preventive measures to tackle the spread of the deadly coronavirus. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has advised citizens to avoid mass gatherings as a preventive measure following the detection of three coronavirus cases in the country for the first time.
Urging the country's people to be panicked with coronavirus, Sheikh Hasina on Monday suggested avoiding any mass gathering. The Prime Minister made the call while talking about coronavirus at the regular weekly cabinet meeting held at her office. Md Asadul Islam, secretary of the Health Services Division under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, disclosed the information during a press briefing on Monday, following the weekly cabinet meeting at Bangladesh Secretariat.
