The Sonamasjid land port in Chapainawabganj could become a Covid-19 hub due to inadequate steps taken by the port authorities to curb the spread of the disease.
Despite government instructions, the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and the authorities at the port hardly check vaccination certificates and body temperatures of truck drivers entering Bangladesh from India.
Locals claim BGB personnel only check for drivers’ masks before allowing them to enter the port.
Meanwhile, drivers spend nights at the port and freely roam around adjacent areas without maintaining health guidelines.
It has also been reported that most land port workers are also reluctant to abide by hygiene rules.
However, a traffic inspector at the port, Alimuzzaman, said: “We have taken all necessary steps to tackle the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, as we did with the Delta variant.”
Every truck coming from India is being sprayed with disinfectant, and no one except drivers are being allowed to enter the port, he added.
Chapainawabganj Civil Surgeon Dr SM Mahmudur Rashid said the three-member medical team at the port is only checking the drivers’ body temperatures and vaccine cards as the port does not have Covid-19 testing facilities.
Both India and Bangladesh have been seeing a surge in Covid-19 infections recently.
Bangladesh logged 13,501 new Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours till Monday morning, while India recorded 209,918 more infections.
