Bangladesh 34th highest-risk nation in coronavirus transmission
The 43 highest-risk countries include 22 Asian nations but none from South America
Bangladesh ranks 34th among 43 countries with the highest risk of transmission of the deadly coronavirus through passenger flights from four Chinese cities, a recent University of Cambridge study has found.
China tops the list, followed by Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Canada and the US, with these five countries reporting at least one case.
The highest-risk countries include 22 Asian nations. India and Pakistan rank 8th and 20th respectively while Sri Lanka is in the 30th position.
The study – published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Epidemiology and Infection – includes 168 countries. They are ranked based on the risk index in four quantiles, with fourth quantile being the highest risk and first quantile being the lowest risk.
The four Chinese cities included in the study are Wuhan, Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.
The Maldives and Afghanistan rank 13th and 31st respectively, and they both are in the third quantile. Bhutan took the 25th position, and Nepal 26th, with both countries ranked in the second quantile.
According to the World Health Organisation, the total coronavirus death toll was at least 1,369 after the Chinese city of Hubei reported an additional 242 fatalities until Thursday.
There is no South American country in the fourth quantile, which means the overall risk of coronavirus transmission into that continent is the lowest. This quartile includes two African countries – Ethiopia and South Africa – and two Oceania nations – Australia and New Zealand.
The study did not consider the risk associated with travel by water and land which might have an impact in the spread of 2019-nCoV.
Two Bangladeshi nationals have so far caught coronavirus, and both were infected in Singapore. They are co-workers.