CoronaVirus in Bangladesh - Updates & Discussion

[Black_cats]

Most of the business and marketplace are closed but Sylhet has organized a trade fair

করোনা আতঙ্কে শিক্ষাপ্রতিষ্ঠান বন্ধ, সিলেটে চলছে বাণিজ্যমেলা

https://sylhetvoice.com/করোনা-আতঙ্কে-শিক্ষাপ্রতি/

বিশ্বব্যাপী ছড়িয়ে পড়েছে প্রাণঘাতী করোনাভাইরাস। চীনের উহান থেক ছড়িয়ে পড়া করোনাভাইরাস বিশ্বের ১৫৭ টি দেশে ছড়িয়ে পড়েছে। আজ ১৬ মার্চ বাংলাদেশে আরো ৩ জন করোনাভাইরাসে নতুন করে আক্রান্ত রোগী সনাক্ত করা হয়েছেন। সব মিলিয়ে দেশে করোনায় আক্রান্তের সংখ্যা দাঁড়িয়েছে মোট ৮ জন। এমন পরিস্থিতিতে দেশের সকল শিক্ষাপ্রতিষ্ঠান আগামী ৩১ মার্চ পর্যন্ত বন্ধ রাখার নির্দেশ দিয়েছে শিক্ষা মন্ত্রণালয়। এমনকি সকলরকম লোকসমাগম বন্ধ থাকতেও সরকারের পক্ষ থেকে কড়া নির্দেশনা ছিলো আগে থেকেই। কিন্তু সকল নির্দেশনা অমান্য করেই অজ্ঞাত কারণেই সিলেটে চলছে আন্তর্জাতিক বাণিজ্যমেলা।

করোনাভাইরাসের কারণে মুজিববর্ষের অনুষ্ঠান সীমিত করে আনলেও সেখানে সিলেটে মেট্রোপলিটন চেম্বারের উদ্যোগে চলছে ৬ষ্ট আন্তর্জাতিক বাণিজ্যমেলা। গত ৭ মার্চ মেলা উদ্বোধনের পর থেকে প্রতিদিন হাজার হাজার মানুষের সমাগম হয় মেলায়। প্রবাসী অধ্যুষিত সিলেট অঞ্চলে বাণিজ্যমেয়ায় সাধারণ দর্শনার্থীদের পাশাপাশি প্রবাসীদের সমাগমই সাধারণত বেশি থাকে। এমতাবস্থায় বাণিজ্যমেলা লোকসমাগম নিয়ে শঙ্কিত সচেতন মহল।

কেবল তাই না, করোনাভাইরাস প্রতিরোধে দেশের শিক্ষা প্রতিষ্ঠান বন্ধের নির্দেশের পর সিলেটের শাহী ঈদগাহ ‘শেখ রাসেল মিনি স্টেডিয়ামে’ বাণিজ্যমেলায় লোকসমাগম নিয়ে চলছে সমালোচনা। এ মেলায় লোকসমাগমের কারণে করোনাভাইরাস ছড়ানোর শঙ্কা আছে বলে মত বিশেষজ্ঞদের।

এ ব্যাপারে সিলেটের সিভিল সার্জন ডা. প্রেমানন্দ মণ্ডল বলেন, ‘লোকসমাগম যাতে না হয় তাতে নির্দেশনা আছে। কিন্তু বাণিজ্যমেলা লোকসমাগম হচ্ছে। এতে ঝুঁকি থাকে ঠিক। কিন্তু এ ব্যাপারে জেলা প্রশাসক মহোদয়ের সাথে আলাপ করাই সম্ভবত ভালো হবে। মেলার ব্যাপারে উনি সিদ্ধান্ত জানাতে পারবেন।’

তবে জেলা প্রশাসক বলেছেন ভিন্ন কথা। এ ব্যাপারে সিলেটের জেলা প্রশাসক এম. কাজী এমদাদুল ইসলাম সিলেট ভয়েসকে বলেন, আমরা সভায় বাণিজ্যমেলা সম্পর্কে আলোচনা করেছি। আপাতত মেলার আয়োজক কমিটিকে লোকসমাগম কম রাখতে নির্দেশ দিয়েছি। একই সাথে মেলার অনুমতি যেহেতু বাণিজ্য মন্ত্রণালয় থেকে দেয়া হয়েছে তাই মেলা বন্ধ করতে মন্ত্রণালয়ে চিঠি পাঠানো হচ্ছে বলেও জানান তিনি।

 

[bluesky]

করোনা আতঙ্কে শিক্ষাপ্রতিষ্ঠান বন্ধ, সিলেটে চলছে বাণিজ্যমেলা

Please read about the definition of soft state below.
https://www.sociologyignou.com/what-is-a-soft-state/

What is a ‘soft state’?
Last updated on Nov 19th, 2017

The term ‘soft state’ was introduced by Gunnar Myrdal, while comparing South Asian countries with European countries. According to him, South Asian countries follow the policy of soft state. The policy of ‘soft state’ means a lenient attitude of state towards social deviance. Soft states do not take hard decisions, even if the situation demands.

This soft state policy weakens the capacity of the state in enforcing rule of law. Not taking hard decisions increases the crime rate, violence, corruption etc. In India, this policy is being followed in the post-independence period. as a result of destruction of strong local powers during the colonial period. Myrdal says that effective governments follow strict enforcement of rule of law.
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I have good reasons to call BD as Golden Bangladesh in lieu of soft state. And this is the reason why a few used to think I am a Sanghi. They usually do not find any defect in the system of BD while I can see BD is full of defective people and defective system without the rule of laws.

 

[Avicenna]

Things to keep in mind:

The most important thing you can do is distance yourself physically from other people.

Optimally, this means staying home if possible. Or at the very least eliminate non-essential travel.

Also please understand this requires EVERYONE to participate. (Including younger people)

Testing for COVID-19 is limited in the US, so if you are symptomatic, its best to self isolate for at least 2 weeks.

If shortness of breath or high fever develop then seek medical care.

ASSUME everyone around you has it and wash your hands frequently, don't touch your face and keep at least 6 feet physical distance from another person.

This virus is mainly contagious airborne/droplet but also can live on surfaces for a long period of time.

So assume everything you touch is infected. And WASH YOUR HANDS!

Build your immune system as much as possible by getting sleep and rest, drink water, and eat nutritious foods.

But IMO possibly the most important thing is to not take this situation lightly and share that view with everyone you know.

Stay home people and tell others to do the same.

Social distancing is key!

And don't forget to pray as well. (i.e. Trust in Allah but tie your camel)

Massive coronavirus prayer gathering takes place in Bangladesh | AFP

This is the WRONG thing to do.

 

[bluesky]

Considering the typical mindset of BD people I wonder why the Mullahs are not demanding a prayer gathering at Tongi Bisshya Ijtema Maidan?

 

[Black_cats]

Awami League’s General Secretary Obaidul Quader said Corona is powerful but we are more powerful than that and collectively we can beat Coronavirus!

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=591636394756399

 

[UKBengali]

Awami League’s General Secretary Obaidul Quader said Corona is powerful but we are more powerful than that and collectively we can beat Coronavirus!

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=591636394756399

Lol.

 

[Black_cats]

NEWS /BANGLADESH

Coronavirus: In dense Bangladesh, social distancing a tough task

Measures to prevent COVID-19 faces challenge in Bangladesh - one of the poorest and densest countries in the world.

by Faisal Mahmud
15 hours ago
Dhaka, Bangladesh - The new coronavirus has forced countries around the world to adopt measures such as flight bans, mandatory lockdowns and social distancing to prevent the pandemic from spreading.

South Asian nation of Bangladesh has also followed suit, banning flights and shutting down schools and colleges but offices still remain open in one of the poorest countries in the world.

More:

• Coronavirus: Bangladesh founder's birth centenary event postponed

• South Asia snapshot: How bad is the coronavirus outbreak?

• Coronavirus: Travel restrictions, border shutdowns by country

On Thursday, the country detected three more cases of COVID-19, taking the total number of infected people to 18. A 70-year-old man died of the disease on Wednesday.

But for people in the densest country on earth, social distancing is a difficult task while commuting in crowded public transport or living in cheek-by-jowl urban slums.

Huddling inside a Tempo - a makeshift human haulier that sits up to 14 passengers - on a Dhaka road, Abdullah Yusuf was brooding on his helpless condition on Wednesday.

Crowded transport and cheek-by-jowl slums
The 27-year-old, who works as a technician at an industrial chemical laboratory, needs to commute from his Rayerbazaar home in Dhaka to office in Tejgaon. He uses Tempo, the cheapest mode of transport, to cover some 5km (3 miles) distance between his home and office.

In a densely populated country like Bangladesh, you can't enforce social distancing in many areas
DR ANM NURUZZAMAN, PHYSICIAN

"People are talking about maintaining social distancing and personal hygiene to stop COVID-19 outbreak," Yusuf told Al Jazeera. "Inside a crowded Tempo, those warnings seem futile as we don't have any option but to sit in a cheek-by-jowl distance."

With an income of less than $250 a month, Yusuf cannot afford to rent an auto-rickshaw or use taxi-hailing services to make the daily commute. "Our office doesn't allow us to work from home. We need to go out every day."

The South Asian nation with 170 million people has shut down all of its educational institutions from March 17 until March 31 [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera]
The South Asian nation with 170 million people has shut down all of its educational institutions from March 17 until March 31. The country has also banned incoming flights from the European destinations.

However, with no "total lockdown" order imposed by the government, millions of people like Yusuf are out on the roads every day, especially in the capital Dhaka - home to some 18 million people.

For a city as dense as Dhaka, maintaining social distance - as suggested by the World Health Organization (WHO) to stop the coronavirus spread - seems like a chimera.

Even staying at home is barely proven to be efficacious in Dhaka - a city with no less than 23,334 people living per square kilometre.

Nadia Tabassum Khan has been working from home for the past one week as her office, a multinational market research firm, allowed their employees to avail the facility.

"Our contractual housemaid however, is making a daily visit to our house from outside," 36-year-old Khan told Al Jazeera.

Khan's housemaid Sulema Begum, a 34-year-old with beetle leaf stained teeth, barely has any idea about the magnitude of coronavirus outbreak. She hardly knows about the pandemic that has infected more than 200,000 people worldwide and killed nearly 10,000 people.

In her slum at Beribandh in the south of Dhaka, where at least 20,000 people live in extremely close quarters, with most residents little aware of the threat due to the disease.

"We have seen on the TV that people are washing hands and advise everyone to do the same. A bottle of hand wash costs more than 120 takas (about $1.4). It is hard for me to afford it," said a nonchalant Begum.

"Besides, in the slum, there is one toilet for every 10 families. We don't even have a regular water supply in the toilet," Begum added.

'Can't enforce social distancing'
Dr ANM Nuruzzaman, a physician who was earlier a director in the Directorate General of Health Service, told Al Jazeera that practising social distancing in a country like Bangladesh is "next to impossible".

"Social distancing is a way of controlling infectious disease. But in a densely populated country like Bangladesh, you can't enforce social distancing in many areas."

"Especially, consider the slums in Dhaka and Chattagram where millions of people live. They are living in such close quarters that it's unthinkable to enforce social distancing there."

The government has said it has all the necessary preparations to tackle the COVID-19 outbreak but people have expressed concerns at the preparedness.

A physician, who wished to remain anonymous, told Al Jazeera that "extremely" limited number of testing is possibly leaving COVID-19 cases undetected in Bangladesh.

As of Wednesday, the Bangladesh government through its Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) - tested only 268 people.

The Dhaka-based IEDCR is the sole testing facility with no other hospitals - public or private - allowed to conduct coronavirus tests.

"The centralisation of detecting COVID-19 makes some sense as it is a contagious virus and without personal protective equipment (PPE) - which many hospitals don't have - it's not safe," Dr Monira Parvin, head of virology department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), told Al Jazeera.

"But that leaves us, who are working in hospitals, in extremely vulnerable condition as patients with symptoms of common flu and pneumonia are coming to the hospitals every day," said Parvin. "These symptoms are similar to those observed in patients infected by COVID-19."

'Shortage of testing kits'
Four doctors of Parvin's hospital were already sent to home quarantine after they handled a person who was later diagnosed with COVID-19.

Doctors in many other hospitals and private clinics are refusing to treat patients with cold and pneumonia symptoms. This has sparked anger and anxiousness among the common people.

Many people are turning to social media to share their experiences. One such Facebook post by Nurun Nahar Nowshin went viral on social media. Nowshin revealed that she made rounds of several hospitals, which refused to treat her father and instead suggested to get her father tested at the IEDCR first.

But her father passed away before the coronavirus test result arrived. Later it was known that he did not have COVID-19.

"The preparation by the government is not adequate. Why don't they bring more kits and test more patients?" questioned Asraf-Ul-Jubair, a vexed resident from Dhaka's Moghbazar who recently called the IEDCR.

"It's hard to believe that only 18 persons are infected with the coronavirus in Bangladesh. If they don't test more people, then they will not be able to find more cases," Jubair said.

Meerjadi Sabrina Flora, director of IEDCR, said they have planned to expand the COVID-19 testing facility to few other centres.

She admitted that the IEDCR has a shortage of testing kits, adding that they would bring more kits from China very soon.

"We will conduct more tests. Our hotline is open 24/7. Any affected patients can seek help on our hotline," she said.

www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2020/03/coronavirus-dense-bangladesh-social-distancing-tough-task-200320103733470.html

 

[bluesky]

Awami League’s General Secretary Obaidul Quader said Corona is powerful but we are more powerful than that and collectively we can beat Coronavirus!

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=591636394756399

কথায় বলে, "অল্প শোকে দুখ, আর অধিক শোকে মূক।" So, comments made by minister Quader has shocked me so much that I have become speechless. People of BD are as callous as he is. But, the thing is people would believe his callous comment and enjoy it enormously.

After all, this is Golden Bangladesh where people are no less idiotic than the Sanghi country.

 

[Black_cats]

Published on 02:27 PM, March 21, 2020
Bangladesh reports second death from coronavirus, 4 more infected

A computer generated image created by Nexu Science Communication and the Trinity College in Dublin, shows a structural model of the betacoronavirus. It is one of four genera of the COVID-19 or coronavirus strain, which recently broke out in Wuhan and has since made its way to many parts of the world. Photo: Reuters/File
Star Online Report
A second Bangladeshi -- a 73-year-old who tested positive for coronavirus -- has died, and four more persons have been detected with Covid-19, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 24, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said at a press briefing at the office of the Directorate General of Health Services at Mohakhali.

Fifty people are now in institutional quarantine, he added.

On March 18, Bangladesh confirmed the first death from the novel coronavirus.

The minister said they are working to prepare 100 ICUs to mitigate the crisis and the number of ICUs will be increased to 400 gradually.

He said the government is preparing Sheikh Russel Gastro Liver Institute and Hospital and Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery to treat coronavirus patients.

Bangladesh Army was given charge to quarantine people at Diabari area and Ijtema grounds if necessary, he added.

The minister informed that China has offered help by providing masks, testing kits and other necessary material to mitigate the crisis.

The government is considering recruiting doctors and nurses who treated coronavirus patients in China for fighting the crisis, he said.

www.thedailystar.net/second-coronavirus-death-in-bangladesh-1883803%3famp

 

[Black_cats]

Mountaineer Wasfia Nazreen tests positive for coronavirus

• News Desk, bdnews24.com
  Published: 2020-03-21 15:38:45 BdST

Picture taken from Facebook
Bangladeshi mountaineer and social activist Wasfia Nazreen has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Wasfia confirmed the matter in a Facebook post on Saturday.

“Yes I’m battling Covid-19 and I am under quarantine right now. Every day is a struggle. I am facing difficulties in walking, bathing, and cooking.”

Wasfia arrived in Los Angeles, US, on March 12 and started showing symptoms of the virus the next day.

“On Friday I felt a mellow shiver and cold in my body. The next day I felt well. However, I felt a throbbing pain in my head which I had never experienced before on Sunday. My body and lungs started to shake on Monday night and I lost my appetite. I also experienced pain in my throat, nose and suffered a severe headache.”

Wasfia was the first Bangladeshi and first Bengali to complete the Seven Summits on November 18, 2015.

She has asked all Bangladeshi nationals to stay alert amid the coronavirus outbreak.

https://m.bdnews24.com/en/detail/bangladesh/1737169

Mitford Hospital unable to provide doctors with masks for ‘resource shortage’

Staff Correspondent | Published: 17:36, Mar 21,2020 | Updated: 17:49, Mar 21,2020

https://www.newagebd.net/article/10...vide-doctors-with-masks-for-resource-shortage

Sir Salimullah Medical College Mitford Hospital authorities in a notice asked its doctors and other staff to collect masks on their own to protect them from COVID-19 as the hospital was unable to provide masks for ‘shortage of resources’.

The notice went viral social media on Saturday.

The notice signed by the hospital director Brigadier General Morshed Rashid said that the coronavirus patients were increasing alarmingly in the country and the care-seekers were also increasing at the hospital.

‘It requires wearing masks by all at the hospital to remain protected from getting infected. But due to shortage of resources, the hospital authority is unable to provide masks,’ said the notice singed with the date March 21, 2020.

‘In such a situation, all are asked to collect mask on their own and wear those to reduce the risk of infection of coronavirus,’ said the notice.

When asked, Brigadier General Morshed admitted to New Age that he had issued the notice.

He said that though the notice was signed and hanged on Saturday, it was actually issued on Thursday.

‘Now, we have now plenty of masks,’ he said.

The government is claiming that it had provided adequate personal protective equipment for doctors and other healthcare providers.

Health rights activists said that the government was hiding the truth about the preparation for coronavirus.

‘The notice exposed the sorry state of the government’s preparation for tackling COVID-19,’ said Rashid-e-Mahbub, former president of Bangladesh Medical Association.

‘It’s unfortunate…The notice sets a sorry example that doctors have to buy masks for themselves to treat patients,’ he said.

He said that the health ministry has completely failed to prepare for COVID-19 and even the frontline fighters, doctors, were not provided with protective equipment.

Hospitals in the capital and elsewhere in recent days are denying patients who have symptoms of coronavirus like fever, coughing, sneezing and breathing difficulty.

The doctors said that they were not provided with the safety gear to treat such highly contagious viral patients, though the health minister and other top officials are claiming that the government ensured adequate personal protective gear for doctors.

 

[Black_cats]

Health minister has done a news briefing keeping 37 people behind. How healthy it is?

 

[monitor]

Mountaineer Wasfia Nazreen tests positive for coronavirus

• News Desk, bdnews24.com
  Published: 2020-03-21 15:38:45 BdST

Picture taken from Facebook
Bangladeshi mountaineer and social activist Wasfia Nazreen has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Wasfia confirmed the matter in a Facebook post on Saturday.

“Yes I’m battling Covid-19 and I am under quarantine right now. Every day is a struggle. I am facing difficulties in walking, bathing, and cooking.”

Wasfia arrived in Los Angeles, US, on March 12 and started showing symptoms of the virus the next day.

“On Friday I felt a mellow shiver and cold in my body. The next day I felt well. However, I felt a throbbing pain in my head which I had never experienced before on Sunday. My body and lungs started to shake on Monday night and I lost my appetite. I also experienced pain in my throat, nose and suffered a severe headache.”

Wasfia was the first Bangladeshi and first Bengali to complete the Seven Summits on November 18, 2015.

She has asked all Bangladeshi nationals to stay alert amid the coronavirus outbreak.

https://m.bdnews24.com/en/detail/bangladesh/1737169

Mitford Hospital unable to provide doctors with masks for ‘resource shortage’

Staff Correspondent | Published: 17:36, Mar 21,2020 | Updated: 17:49, Mar 21,2020

https://www.newagebd.net/article/10...vide-doctors-with-masks-for-resource-shortage

Sir Salimullah Medical College Mitford Hospital authorities in a notice asked its doctors and other staff to collect masks on their own to protect them from COVID-19 as the hospital was unable to provide masks for ‘shortage of resources’.

The notice went viral social media on Saturday.

The notice signed by the hospital director Brigadier General Morshed Rashid said that the coronavirus patients were increasing alarmingly in the country and the care-seekers were also increasing at the hospital.

‘It requires wearing masks by all at the hospital to remain protected from getting infected. But due to shortage of resources, the hospital authority is unable to provide masks,’ said the notice singed with the date March 21, 2020.

‘In such a situation, all are asked to collect mask on their own and wear those to reduce the risk of infection of coronavirus,’ said the notice.

When asked, Brigadier General Morshed admitted to New Age that he had issued the notice.

He said that though the notice was signed and hanged on Saturday, it was actually issued on Thursday.

‘Now, we have now plenty of masks,’ he said.

The government is claiming that it had provided adequate personal protective equipment for doctors and other healthcare providers.

Health rights activists said that the government was hiding the truth about the preparation for coronavirus.

‘The notice exposed the sorry state of the government’s preparation for tackling COVID-19,’ said Rashid-e-Mahbub, former president of Bangladesh Medical Association.

‘It’s unfortunate…The notice sets a sorry example that doctors have to buy masks for themselves to treat patients,’ he said.

He said that the health ministry has completely failed to prepare for COVID-19 and even the frontline fighters, doctors, were not provided with protective equipment.

Hospitals in the capital and elsewhere in recent days are denying patients who have symptoms of coronavirus like fever, coughing, sneezing and breathing difficulty.

The doctors said that they were not provided with the safety gear to treat such highly contagious viral patients, though the health minister and other top officials are claiming that the government ensured adequate personal protective gear for doctors.

Doctors and nurses not only needs mask but PPE for them . for months this govt was telling we are ready for corona but reality is very bleak for us . we will lose more from economic side then the people dead but Govt. is totally ignore the danger ahead .

 

[Bilal9]

Awami League’s General Secretary Obaidul Quader said Corona is powerful but we are more powerful than that and collectively we can beat Coronavirus!

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=591636394756399

First class uneducated Moron, he should stick to taking percentage from construction project as his expounding on global crisis matters is laughable. Idiot.

This gadha can't even speak Bengali properly. Who asked him for his opinion?

 

[Black_cats]

672 families of 40 buildings under 'lockdown' in Dhaka

HEALTH
TBS Report
21 March, 2020, 11:45 pm
Last modified: 21 March, 2020, 11:59 pm

https://tbsnews.net/bangladesh/health/672-families-40-buildings-under-lockdown-dhaka-59323

An elderly person, who was a resident of north Tolarbag, died from coronavirus yesterday

Local administration has kept 672 families of 40 buildings under "lockdown" in capital's Tolarbag a day after an elderly resident of the area died from coronavirus infection.

All entrance gates have been put under lock and no one is allowed to enter or exit from the area.

Confirming the matter to The Business Standard, an official of Dhaka District administration said, local lawmaker Aslamul Hoque has ordered all in the area to stay under "lockdown".

Police's Mirpur Zone Assistant Commissioner Mizanur Rahman said, "This is not actually a lockdown. We have restricted movement in the area as the coronavirus patient roamed there and interacted with many people."

Meanwhile, the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control And Research (IEDCR) is tracing his contacts and will quarantine the persons who came into contact with the elderly patient, said its Director Dr Meerjady Sabrina Flora.

However, Tolarbag House Owners' Association President Shuvashis Biswas said, "District administration assured us to provide food and other necessary goods during the lockdown, but later we came to know that police do not have any such fund to supply food for us."

Earlier, an elderly person, who was a resident of north Tolarbag, died from coronavirus yesterday at Delta Medical College and Hospital. Few members of his family reportedly came from Italy and Japan recently. IEDCR has already collected samples of the family members for coronavirus test.

He is the second confirmed death from coronavirus reported in Bangladesh.

Four doctors, 12 nurses and three other supporting staff of Delta Medical College and Hospital have been sent to home quarantine as they treated the patient.

 

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Bangladesh mission in India opens hotline number over Covid-19
Tribune Desk

• Published at 04:32 pm March 21st, 2020

Officials of the mission will provide 24 hours online service through the WhatsApp hotline number Bigstock


Bangladeshi citizens especially students, who are residing anywhere in India can contact the mission officials through the number (+918595552494) for any help they require in the wake of Covid-19

Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi, India has opened a WhatsApp hotline number for the Bangladeshi nationals living in the country so that they can contact with the mission officials in any emergency.

Officials of the mission will provide 24 hours online service through the WhatsApp hotline number if anybody seeks help from the mission in the wake of Coronavirus pandemic that has already claimed over 11,431 lives and infected 277,310 people globally.

The number, which was published on the mission’s website is +918595552494, reports BSS.

Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Mohammad Imran said on Friday that Bangladeshi citizens especially students, who are residing anywhere in India can contact the mission officials through the number for any help they require in the wake of Covid-19.

Apart from this, he said: “The mission is preparing a database through WhatsApp numbers of the Bangladeshi nationals in India so that they can communicate with us easily to get the mission’s service in this regard.”

“As part of the efforts, we have already collected names and address of 700 Bangladeshi people and most of them are students,” he added.

He requested the Bangladeshi patients in Indian hospitals to contact with the mission officials through the WhatsApp number for any help.

“Don’t be panicked, the mission is with you,” the high commissioner assured the Bangladeshi nationals in India.

Meanwhile, the high commission has issued a travel advisory for its nationals in view of the Coronavirus pandemic.

According to the advisory, the mission discourages coming to the mission in person for obtaining consular service, if it is not an absolute necessity.

It also advised the Bangladeshi nationals in India to avoid crowds and public gatherings as well as strictly follow the instructions of the Indian government regarding movement and quarantine.

According to Indian health ministry sources, Covid-19 cases in India rose to 258 today (till filling of the report at 12:25pm local time) with 35 new cases reported in various parts of the country.

Among the 258 are 39 foreign nationals, including 17 from Italy, three from the Philippines, two from the UK, one each belonging to Canada, Indonesia and Singapore. The total figure also includes four deaths reported from Delhi, Karnataka, Punjab and Maharashtra.

https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangla...n-in-india-opens-hotline-number-over-covid-19