312 China returnees released from quarantine

All the Bangladeshis who returned from China on February 1, were released from the Ashkona quarantine centre on Saturday.

They were screened again in the evening, and the screening continued until 8 pm. They were then given medical clearance certificates which allowed them to leave.

The government set up a quarantine zone at Hajj Camp in the capital's Ashkona area to keep the Bangladeshis who returned from China under observation. This is because coronavirus is infectious, and it takes about 14 days for symptoms to appear. 

Of this group that came to Dhaka on February 1, eleven were kept under observation in a hospital, said the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR).

They have been declared free of coronavirus after a 14-day quarantine. 

The IEDCR's Principal Scientific Officer Dr ASM Alamgir said they heard that many of the returnees would go back home at night. "Cars have been arranged to take them to the bus or rail stations. As it is already late night, many of them will go home in the morning, I heard.''  

However, many of these people went back home on Saturday after dining together.

All the people who were kept in quarantine have been asked to stay in touch with the IEDCR.

A charter flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines landed at Dhaka on February 1 with 312 Bangladeshis from Wuhan city, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in China. The passengers were taken directly to the Hajj Camp in Ashkona.

They were kept in quarantine for two weeks as a precautionary measure. They were not allowed to meet anyone during these two weeks.