BNP chief Khaleda Zia tests negative for coronavirus

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has tested negative for the coronavirus infection, 27 days after contracting the disease.

Khaleda’s third test yielded a negative result, while the first and second test results were positive, said Dr Muhammad Al Mamun, a member of the medical panel treating the BNP chief.

On Apr 11, Khaleda tested positive for the coronavirus. She began her treatment, supervised by her personal physician Dr FM Siddiqui, at her Gulshan home. She took another coronavirus test after 14 days on Apr 25 and tested positive again. The result returned negative after the BNP chairperson tested for the third time on Saturday.

Khaleda was admitted to Evercare Hospital in Dhaka for treatment on Apr 27. She had a CT scan of her chest and some heart tests.

The 76-year-old former prime minister was shifted to the coronary care unit on May 3 as she complained of respiratory distress.

A 10-member medical panel led by Dr Shahabuddin Talukdar has been treating Khaleda Zia. She is suffering from post-COVID complications and has been kept in CCU, according to the panel.

"If a coronavirus patient has no symptoms after two weeks of infections, it is assumed they won't infect others. That's why the BNP chairperson is receiving treatment in a non-COVID' unit,” said Prof AZM Zahid Hossain, citing “international health protocols”.