Chinese national hospitalised in Dhaka with fever, cold is under observation

The Chinese national hospitalised in Dhaka with fever and cold amid a coronavirus outbreak in his homeland is “doing well, but still under observation as precaution”.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 28 Jan 2020, 08:10 PM
Updated : 28 Jan 2020, 08:10 PM

The Directorate General of Health Services has decided to keep him at the hospital for some more days, Director General Abul Kalam Azad said on Tuesday.

“He (patient) has recovered. He wants to return home now,” Azad told an inter-ministerial meeting at the Secretariat in Dhaka.

He told bdnews24.com later that the patient has not been released as part of “precautionary measures”.

“We’ve asked him to stay at the hospital for some more days,” Azad said, adding that results of some medical tests on the patient were not ready.

The Chinese national is not from Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, the health DG said.

The health directorate confirmed the development on Monday as airports in Bangladesh have already installed thermal scanners alongside other screening measures for travellers from China in a bid to prevent the virus from spreading.

Since its outbreak in Wuhan, the death toll from the virus in China has risen to 106, prompting countries around the world to step up preventative measures.

According to health experts, the symptoms of the coronavirus virus infection -- which can cause pneumonia in some cases -- include fever, coughing and difficulty with breathing.

The patient in Bangladesh has come from China and has a history of travelling to his native country.

Aside from undergoing thermal screenings for fever, travellers from China are also being given health cards and asked to contact the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research or IEDCR if they have fever within 14 days from the date of arrival. The incubation period of the virus is two weeks.

While a small number of cases have been confirmed in more than 10 countries, linked to people who travelled from Wuhan, no deaths have been reported elsewhere.

Bangladesh is yet to confirm any case of the virus.