Update on Bangladeshi students in China: Embassy assures all-out help

Bangladeshi students who are stuck in a lockdown at 'Ground Zero' of the Coronavirus outbreak in China are finally at ease after authorities from Bangladesh Embassy in Beijing and their university have assured them of assistance.

The students stuck in Wuhan, which is in a virtual lockdown since January 23, appealed to the Bangladesh Embassy seeking help and wanted to return home. While returning home will not be possible for the Bangladeshi students yet, they have been assured by the embassy in Beijing of all-out help when and if needed.

To try and understand the situation better in Wuhan, The Daily Star got in touch with one of the students at Hubei University of Technology, Asif Ahmed Sourov.

"All Bangladeshi students are safe but naturally many of them of are scared. Many said they want to return to Bangladesh but that is not possible now. For now, we are in touch with Bangladesh Embassy in Beijing. They told us not to panic and provided us with their hotline numbers," said Asif.

The Bangladeshi authorities in Beijing have also assured the students that they will go to Wuhan if needed or in case of emergency.

Meanwhile, university authorities have arranged bus services, at least twice a week, for students to get groceries and other materials from the city, Asif confirmed.

Doctors affiliated with the university have also given a set of directives to the students, asking them to wear masks, drink hot water every 10 to 15 minutes and to exercise general caution.

The death toll from Coronavirus in China has risen to 56 and the number of people infected across the country is nearing 2,000, authorities said today.

Wuhan and more than a dozen other cities in the province have been locked down in a rapidly expanding quarantine effort marked by transport shutdowns and other restrictions on movement.