Authorities facing difficulty in tracing down South Africa returnees: DGHS
DGHS Spokesperson Professor Dr Nazmul Islam assured that the overall situation so far is under control and there is no reason to panic
Authorities have been struggling to track down many of the South Africa returnees, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said.
DGHS Spokesperson Professor Dr Nazmul Islam informed the press about the situation in a health bulletin on Wednesday (1 December).
"We are identifying, contacting, and examining the returnees from South Africa, with the cooperation of civil surgeons, deputy commissioners, and various law enforcement agencies," Dr Nazmul Islam said.
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He assured that the overall situation so far is under control and there is no reason to panic.
"We are screening passengers returning from South Africa or in countries where the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is high. Those who are already staying in their respective residences are requested through the media to give us samples, we will test those samples. This will help us deal with the ongoing situation," he said.
Dr Nazmul Islam also requested the expatriates to suspend their plans to come to Bangladesh for the time being.
"Visit Bangladesh When the situation returns to normalcy. Traveling at this time can increase the risk of infection. We are constantly taking various decisions to reduce the risk of infection. Quarantine is now being strengthened in ports," he added.
Earlier on Tuesday, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said some 240 people, who returned to Bangladesh from South Africa recently, could not be traced.
"In the last one month 240 people have returned from South Africa, but after entering the country they could not be traced anymore as they kept their mobile phones switched off," the minister said after an inter-ministerial meeting over the Omicron variant.
