Spl flight for China today to bring back 361 Bangladeshis

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen today said the government will send a Biman’s special flight to China at 5pm to bring back 361 Bangladeshis who are now stranded in Wuhan, the epicenter of deadly coronavirus.

“So far, we know 361 Bangladeshis of Wuhan have been registered showing willingness to return home, among them 19 families with 18 children and two infants,” he told reporters at a joint press briefing with Health Minister Zahid Maleque at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) here.

Momen said the returnee Bangladeshis will be sent to Ashkona Hajj camp directly from the Airport to be quarantine for next 14 days. “Those who are coming are not sick but we don’t want to take any risk,” he added.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines sources said a Biman’s Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft with capacity of carrying 419 passengers will leave Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) for China at 5pm and return here with the Bangladeshi nationals at around 2 am tomorrow.

Since outbreak of the virus, Momen said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was worried about fate of Bangladeshi citizens specially the students residing in China while she had directed the foreign ministry to initiate step to bring back those Bangladeshis who are ‘willing to back’.

“Earlier, the china government told us that they would not allow anyone to leave Wuhuan before 14 days …. but last night they informed us that they managed a pocket to send our nationals (on Friday night),” he said.

After getting Chinese approval, the foreign minister said they informed the matter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and “right away, she told us to take the opportunity to bring them (Bangladeshi citizen) back.”

Momen said the health ministry has already taken all arrangements at the Hajj camp to make the returnees quarantine. “They will be under observation and examined. When they are diagnosed as virus free, we will let them go after 14-days,” the minister said.

Currently, he said the foreign ministry is only concentrate on those who are stranded in locked down Wuhan city. “We hope, we don’t need to bring back those Bangladeshis who are residing other parts of China,” he added.

He said Bangladesh has no plan to suspend flight operation to China like some other countries. “We don’t have any direct flight to Wuhan … we are not suspending flight operation (to China), but we discourage our people to travel China this moment.

Echoing that no one will be allowed to leave the hajj camp before 14 days, The health minister requested the relatives of the returnees not try to gather at the camp in next 14 days to see their dear ones.

The health minister said they have enough manpower comprising Directorate General of Health and Army medical core to manage the situation. He said the health ministry has already prepared a treatment protocol as per guideline of World Health Organization (WHO) to manage the situation.

“We have already published a booklet regarding the treatment protocol and distributed to all government and private hospitals across the country,” he added.

Earlier, the foreign minister said fifteen Bangladeshi students informed the Beijing mission that they don’t want to return home to avoid any possibilities to transmit the disease in Bangladesh.

The World Health Organization declared a global emergency over the new coronavirus, as China reported Friday the death toll had climbed to 213 with nearly 10,000 infections.

Source:BSS