At least 1500 Bangladeshi died from Covid-19 infection abroad, with the highest deaths taking place in the Middle East.
Shariful Hasan, head of the Brac migration program, told Dhaka Tribune that Brac collected the data from the media reports, Bangladesh embassy facebook pages, and the local community.
According to the Brac migration program, of the total deaths till June 15, at least 900 Bangladeshis died of Covid-19 in the Middle East.
In Saudi Arabia, a third of the total deaths – at least 623 – are Bangladeshis. In the UAE, the death toll of Bangladeshis stands at 130, in Kuwait at 75, in Oman 30, 25 in Qatar, and 15 in Bahrain.
More than 300 Bangladeshis died of Covid-19 in the UK, at least 275 in the USA, around 115 in Italy, at least nine in Canada, more than eight in Sweden, seven in France, five in Spain and one each in India, Maldives, Portugal, Kenya, Libya, South Africa, and Gambia.
Shahab Uddin Sagor, editor of the New York-based Weekly Nobojug told Dhaka Tribune: “We only know the data from what was communicated by the local community [in US] who were willing to inform us about the deaths or infection/recovery status.”
“In the US, the data may be more than what we know. Though the government discloses the total infection and death tolls daily, there are no specifics about citizenship. The Consulate General of Bangladesh at New York also has no data in this regard.”
More than 80,000 Bangladeshi citizens were infected with coronavirus till mid-July, according to Weekly Nobojug.
According to the Wage Earners’ Welfare Board at the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas, a total of 1,146 bodies were sent home from different countries till June. The deaths were due to various causes such as accidents, heart attacks, and other diseases.
When contacted, Dr Khalilur Rahman, additional foreign secretary, who is also the chief coordinator of a special cell for Covid-19 related information with the world could not be reached by phone.
However, the official told Dhaka Tribune earlier that they do not disclose the data of Covid-19 deaths and infections of Bangladeshis living abroad.
