Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Wednesday said the government will keep those who will return to Bangladesh under observation before China lifts the ongoing 14-day restriction to avoid any risk. “We’re not delaying. We’re fully ready to bring them (Bangladesh citizens) back once China allows,” he told reporters, adding that the government does not want to see the transmission of coronavirus in other places.
The Foreign Minister said the Chinese government remains very strict in following the 14-day quarantine period and did not even accept the proposals of Japan and the USA to take back their nationals. China is willing to stay in communication with other countries in order to properly handle the issues related to prevention and control of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) will help keep working with China and all other countries to protect health and keep people safe, says Spokesperson for the UN Secretary General Stephane Dujarric. WHO will send international experts to visit China as soon as possible to work with their Chinese counterparts on increasing understanding of the outbreak to guide global response efforts, he said.
WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is in Beijing and he met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday, said the Spokesperson in a regular briefing at the UN headquarters in New York. Dr Tedros noted that the World Health Organization is working closely with the Chinese government on the measures to understand the virus and limit its transmission.
On Tuesday, Dr Momen said the government, as directed by the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, will bring back Bangladesh citizens, willing to return from Wuhan city of China, once China lifts the ongoing 14-day restriction in the city that faced lockdown over the coronavirus outbreak. The Foreign Minister said the government remains cautious but not panicked. “We don’t want to create any panic.”
