Hundreds join janaza of Barguna AL leader, who tested coronavirus positive
Meanwhile, hundreds of people gathered at the deceased AL leaders’ house
A day after the death of Awami League President of Amtali upazila in Barguna GM Delowar, test results arrived on Friday that said he was infected with the novel coronavirus.
"His coronavirus test results came in today (Friday) and he was positive with the virus," Amtali upazila Health and Family Welfare official Dr Shankar Prashad Adhikari told The Business Standard.
Earlier on Thursday, Barguna Civil Surgeon Dr Humayun Shahin Khan said that GM Delowar went to see a doctor in Patuakhali Hospital before his death. His sample was collected there and sent to the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control And Research (IEDCR) for coronavirus testing.
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Barguna Health Department requested them to give the test result as soon as possible, he added.
Meanwhile, Barguna Deputy Commissioner Mostain Billah on Thursday said that the district authorities kept the family of the deceased and his house under lockdown until the test results came.
However, on Friday, even after his test results came positive, hundreds of people gathered at the deceased AL leaders' house completely ignoring the directives of the authorities.
"GM Delowar was very popular among the people of the Barguna. It was assumed that people would come to his house hearing news of his death," a resident of the area unwilling to be named said.
"The deputy commissioner put the lockdown considering the situation. But people ignored it and came to his house anyway," he added.
The resident also claimed that hundreds of people attended his namaz-e-janaza.
When asked, Barguna's Deputy Commissioner Mostain Billah said that the law enforcers tried their best to maintain the lockdown but people, including political leaders, started to come in, making it difficult for the authorities to maintain the lockdown.
Amtali Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Monira Parvin, however, said that GM Delowar's namaz-e-janaza was held "on a limited scale."
Bangladesh Navy's commander Jubayer said that he asked Barguna Deputy Commissioner and Police Super to completely lockdown Amtali upazila after the incident to curb the spread of the virus.
