Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s personal physician Dr ABM Abdullah has asked the government to take strict measures against those who are violating the order to remain home quarantined.
“The government should not compromise a bit when it comes to keeping the returnees home quarantined. They should be punished or fined as per the country’s law, if they come out of their house during the quarantine period,” he said.
The doctor was speaking in a press conference organized by Foundation for Doctors’ Safety & Rights (FDSR) on Bangladeshi health workers’ safety at National Press Club in Dhaka on Thursday.
He also said the authority was not really prepared to take necessary safety measures when people returned from Italy.
“The police who were trying to stop them, the journalists who were doing their job-- they [people who returned from Italy] put all of them at risk,” he said.
Media personality and advisor to FDSR, Dr Abdun Noor Tushar, said people who are asked to remain home quarantined did not receive any proper guideline on what to do and what not to during the quarantine period, for which they are not the only group to be blamed.
On Wednesday, Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus death.
The 70-year-old patient had high level of comorbidity – cardiac problems, high-blood pressure, kidney diseases, and diabetes.
Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) confirmed the total number of infections in the country to be 17, of whom three were released upon recovery while 13 others are undergoing treatment at hospitals.
Since its detection on December 31 last year in Wuhan, China, it has spread to 166 countries and regions. Till date, the total confirmed cases of infected persons are above 220,000 of which over 8,900 people have died.
