The number of coronavirus cases in Bangladesh stood at 20 on Friday with the detection of three new cases in the last 24 hours. Additional Director General for health Prof Nasima Sultana, updating reporters, said of the new cases, the condition of a septuagenarian male is ‘critical’.
“He is in the ICU of a hospital,” she said. The other two – one male and the other is female – are at their age of 30s. “The woman has mild symptoms but we tested her positive because she came to the contact of an Italy returnee,” she said, adding that those new three cases are from different families, but they have recent travel history to Europe.
“One of them recently returned from Italy and two others were infected when they came in contact with an expatriate Bangladeshi,” she said. “There is no community transmission so far in Bangladesh,” she maintained. “Still we are seeing local transmission only.” She asked all who returned home to strictly follow the home quarantine rules of the government. Otherwise the government can take action, she said.
She also asked people to maintain personal hygiene and cough etiquettes such as covering the cough and sneezes. People have been asked to wash hands with soap frequently and maintain social distancing. Bangladesh reported the country’s first death from coronavirus on March 18.
The government confirmed the first three cases in Bangladesh on March 8. The World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak which is officially named COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11. It spread to almost all countries across the world after emerging from China’s Wuhan city in December. China brought the situation under control. But Europe became the epicenter of the virus now with Italy the worst-hit country. The total global deaths surpassed 10,000.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called upon the countries for coordinated action to win the battle against the virus. “We are in an unprecedented situation and the normal rules no longer apply,” he said in a statement. “We are at war with a virus”.
