The government has requested China to supply coronavirus testing kits, thermometers, medicated masks, and isolation garments, as Bangladesh has scarcity of these products at present, officials said.
The Economic Relations Division (ERD) sent a letter to this effect to Chinese government on Monday.
Earlier, the Ministry of Health (MoH) requested the ERD to seek the testing kits and other necessary materials to detect coronavirus infected people and handle patients in Bangladesh.
An ERD joint secretary told the FE that they sought 1,000 testing kits, 1,000 infra-red thermometers, medicated masks, and isolation garments from China for handling potential coronavirus patients in the country.
"After getting request from the MoH recently, we have discussed the issue with the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka. It has assured us of providing necessary support," he added.
A MoH official said: "China has extensive experience in dealing with the coronavirus epidemic. In addition, our government wants to ensure that Bangladesh is well-equipped in the fight against the outbreak. So, the government has sought the Chinese support."
Requesting for anonymity, another MoH official said they need testing equipment and other facilities in a large quantity, as there is possibility of spreading coronavirus epidemic in Bangladesh.
Currently, the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) is testing suspected people in its own lab in Mohakhali in Dhaka to detect patients with infection.
Officials concerned said the hospitals in Dhaka as well as across the country are poorly equipped for handling the coronavirus outbreak, as they lack testing kits and other equipment.
In Bangladesh, some eight patients have been detected so far. Of them three have been released after treatment, and five are still under treatment.
Director of IEDCR Prof Meerjady Sabrina Flora at a briefing on Monday confirmed that the five patients are under treatment.
The new patients, detected on Monday, include a woman and two children. They are family members of one of the two patients, detected on Sunday.
Bangladesh has recently become one of the vulnerable countries, as hundreds of non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) from worst victim countries, like - Italy, Spain, France and Germany, are returning to the country.
After China, the coronavirus is spreading swiftly to Iran, Italy, Spain and some other European states along with neighbouring countries, including India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
