In a late-night announcement on Saturday(March 14), the government said it would bar air passengers from all European countries, except Britain, for two weeks due to the coronavirus, with more than 138,000 people worldwide infected and more than 5,000 dead.
Bangladesh also banned visas-on-arrival for all countries for the same period.
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, flanked by Health Minister Zahid Malik and State Minster for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, made the announcement from a media briefing at state guesthouse Padma in Dhaka on Saturday night. The decisions will be effective from Sunday midnight, Momen said.
Like the others, we won’t allow passengers from these countries as the World Health Organisation has declared Europe the new epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, he said.
The government will also ban entry from the countries that have banned arrivals from Bangladesh, according to the minister.
They include India, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait.
The Bangladeshi students in India will not be allowed to enter Bangladesh over two weeks, he said, responding to a query.
Momen reiterated that all the returnees from the coronavirus-hit countries must remain in self-quarantine for two weeks.
Shahriar said cargo flights and courier services will continue normally.
Meanwhile, two more people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Bangladesh, taking the total number of COVID-19 patients reported in the country to five.
One of the new patients is a returnee from Germany while the other is from Italy, Health Minister Zahid Malik said.
The government came under intense pressure to shut schools across the country. Social media was blaze with comments criticizing the government for keeping the schools still open.
Covid -19 so far claimed 5618 around the world mostly in China and Italy. The number of infected now stands at 1lakh 50 thousand 685 while 73 731 have returned home after recovery. The virus ahs spread in 149 countries across the world.