Coronavirus: 3 more infected

Three more people have tested positive for coronavirus bringing the country's total to eight, according to Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research.

But the actual number of infected people could be much higher, Prof Abul Kalam Azad, DG of the Directorate General of Health Services, admitted while talking to The Daily Star.

Meanwhile, 95 Bangladeshis from Italy and other European countries landed in Dhaka last night, despite the government's travel ban on all European countries except the UK. The supposed ban went into force at 12:00pm yesterday. Of the eight people tested positive so far, four were infected by family members who returned from Italy and Germany.

Yesterday's three new patients -- a woman and two children aged below 10 -- are family members of one of the two people who tested positive on Sunday.

On Saturday and Sunday, at least 349 other Bangladeshis who arrived from Italy were allowed to go home and asked to be in self-isolation. However, it has been reported that many people "in quarantine" were roaming around in their neighbourhoods.

Italy is the worst affected country in Europe, which is the new epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Asked how far the reported number was from the number actually infected, Prof Azad last night said, "There might be more patients."

He added that icddr,b and Institute of Public Health in the capital and Bangladesh Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases in Chattogram, and one facility in Cox's Bazar would soon be equipped to test people for coronavirus. The tests are currently done only at the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research in the capital.

DGHS officials yesterday said they did not test as many people as they would like because they had been concerned about running out of testing kits and made "rational" use of available resources.

Contacted, Prof Azad said more kits sent by WHO would arrive from Dubai in two or three days. "We will then try to find out the actual number of patients in the country."

Many officials said they fear that people who returned from affected countries may have infected others by not quarantining themselves properly.

Prof Azad held a meeting with WHO country representative to Bangladesh Dr Bardan Jung Rana at the DGHS office in the capital yesterday.

Dr Rana promised that WHO would assist Bangladesh in getting more kits and personal protective equipment (PPE) from China, Prof Azad said.

IN DARKNESS, AT RISK

Of the eight people tested positive, the first three have fully recovered, IEDCR Director Prof Meerjady Sabrina Flora told reporters yesterday.

The IEDCR have so far tested a total of 241 people. Prof Flora yesterday said the number of tests done was enough to get the actual picture.

WHAT EXPERTS SAY

Contacted, Prof Saif Ullah Munshi, chairman of virology department at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, said, "Testing 241 people is not enough to get the real picture. There is a need to routinely and randomly test people from different communities."

Prof Muzaherul Huq, former regional advisor of WHO's South East Asia region, said, "What happened in China, South Korea and other countries is an indication that there are 10-15 times more patients than reported.

"The government should take more drastic measures. We need strict monitoring to ensure proper quarantine. There should be arrangements to treat people at facilities and Intensive Care Units should be prepared. But our healthcare system is not ready for this. Even the most developed countries have not been able to do this. The only way is to lock down the whole country for some time."

ARRIVALS DESPITE TRAVEL BAN

With 304 Bangladeshis, including the 95 from Italy and other European countries, a plane of Qatar Airlines arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 6:48pm, officials said.

The 95 were taken to Ashkona Hajj Camp in the city's Uttara for health screening. The authorities will later decide whether to quarantine them at a facility or allow them to go home.

Sixty-eight of them came from Italy, Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman, chairman of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, told The Daily Star.

The rest of the 209 passengers are from Qatar. They were allowed to go home and asked to be in self-quarantine at home for 14 days, said Dr Jahirul Islam, physician at the health desk of the airport.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Saturday said no one from Europe, except the UK, would be allowed to enter Bangladesh.

He also said all on-arrival visas would remain suspended for two weeks. 

Asked about last night's arrival, a CAAB official said Qatar Airways managed Bangladesh government's permission through diplomatic means.

Other CAAB officials said the government gave the permission on humanitarian grounds. 

CAAB chief Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman said he will issue a letter to Qatar Airways expressing his disappointment.

"We have verbally expressed our dissatisfaction to the country manager of Qatar Airways and he pledged not to repeat this," he said.