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Coronavirus: Govt to bring back citizens willing to return from China

| Updated: January 27, 2020 18:42:43


Coronavirus: Govt to bring back citizens willing to return from China

Bangladesh government is going to bring back its citizens who are now in coronavirus-stricken China and want to return.

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has given directives about this, state minister for foreign affairs Shahriar Alam said in a Facebook post this morning (Monday).

"Our main purpose is the safety of our citizens," he said in the post.

The government will make the arrangement to bring back its citizens as per the directives, he said, adding: "We’ve started discussions with the Chinese government in this regard.”

The arrangement depends on the consent of the local administration in China considering the current situation there, he said.

A primary directive will be issued by today to prepare a list of citizens who are willing to return, the state minister added.

Coronavirus has caused at least 80 deaths while China confirmed 2,744 cases by midnight on Sunday. The disease has spread to other countries as well.

Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, is at the centre of the outbreak. Wuhan is in lockdown and China has imposed travel bans on a number of other cities, UNB reported.

At least 44 cases have been confirmed outside China but there have been no deaths outside China.

Coronavirus causes a severe acute respiratory infection but there is no specific cure or vaccine. Most of the deaths have been of elderly people or those with pre-existing respiratory problems.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Embassy in Beijing has opened a hotline number +(86)-17801116005 for Bangladeshis.

There are about 300 to 400 Bangladeshi students in Wuhan, according to the foreign ministry in Dhaka.

On behalf of some students, Sajib Hossain, an assistant teacher at Yangtze University in Wuhan province, posted a letter on Facebook addressing the foreign ministry in which he sought assistance from the Bangladesh authorities.

According to him, over 500 Bangladeshi students are now living in the Chinese province.

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