Contact us if you have coronavirus symptom: IEDCR

Only public awareness can prevent the spread of coronavirus. So, people with coronavirus symptoms should immediately contact the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) instead of staying at home out of fear, said Meerjady Sabrina Flora, the director of the institute on Saturday at a regular press briefing. 

Anyone can be infected with the virus anytime. So, we always have to be prepared. So far, samples from 111 people, including 48 quarantined ones, have been collected, and not a single one has tested positive to coronavirus.

At present, only three people are in quarantine, she added.

Dr Flora said it was not true that anyone coming from abroad has coronavirus. However, one has to be cautious. She recommended that people returning from abroad should avoid using public transportation. It would be better if they use private vehicles instead. At the same time, all family members should not go to the airport to receive them, she said further. 

Amid the worldwide shortage of coronavirus kits, there are around 2,000 kits in Bangladesh, she added.

Globally, infection outside China is increasing, and the situation in South Korea, Iran and Italy is becoming alarming with a daily increase of infected patients. Earlier, one Bangladeshi in Italy, one in the United Arab Emirates, and five Bangladeshis in Singapore have been infected with the coronavirus. Among them, three have returned home from Singapore and two are undergoing treatment in hospital there. No new infection has been reported so far. The infected Bangladeshi in Italy is in-home quarantine, she said.