US embassy: Bangladesh among 25 countries at risk of coronavirus

Published at 06:59 pm March 4th, 2020

File photo: Medical workers in protective suits inspect a CT scan image at a hospital in Yunmeng county of Xiaogan city in Hubei, the province hit hardest by the novel coronavirus outbreak, China on February 20, 2020 Reuters

In a press release issued on Tuesday, the embassy said the countries are either affected by COVID-19 or at high risk of its spread

The US Embassy in Dhaka has marked Bangladesh among the 25 countries at risk of deadly coronavirus or COVID-19.

In a press release issued on Tuesday, the embassy said the countries are either affected by COVID-19 or at high risk of its spread.

The rest countries are: Afghanistan, Angola, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kenya, South Africa, Tajikistan, The Philippines, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Myanmar, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Laos, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The US government also pledged a $37 million fund from the Emergency Reserve Fund for Contagious Infectious Diseases at the USAID for the 25 countries, it added.

These are the first US funds committed from the pledge of up to $100 million announced by the US Department of State on February 7.

“Because an infectious-disease threat anywhere can be a threat everywhere, we call on other donors to contribute to the effort to combat COVID-19 as well,” the release stated.

Building on ongoing USAID and other US Government investments to help prepare and respond to infectious diseases under the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA), the new funding will help address the threat of COVID-19, the embassy said.