Bangladesh extends closure of land border for travellers from India after finding variant

The government has decided to keep the land borders closed for travellers from India for two more weeks over a devastating COVID-19 surge there, possibly fuelled by a coronavirus variant first found in that country.

Officials took the decision at an inter-ministerial meeting presided over by Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen on Saturday after health authorities detected coronavirus cases with some resemblance to the variant.

The foreign ministry’s Secretary (East) Mashfee Binte Shams said the previous decisions on Bangladeshis in India and goods transport will remain unchanged.

When the restrictions were imposed on Apr 25, the foreign ministry had said the Bangladeshi citizens currently travelling to India for treatment and having visas with validity for less than 15 days can enter Bangladesh through only Benapole, Akhaura and Burimari after taking permission from the Bangladesh missions in New Delhi, Kolkata, and Agartala.

They must also have a COVID-negative certificate through PCR test within seventy-two hours of entry.

People entering Bangladesh through this process will have to stay officially quarantined for two weeks.

The vehicles carrying imported goods from India will have to be properly sterilised before entering Bangladesh borders. The drivers and helpers will have to follow the COVID-19 safety protocol strictly.

Railroads will be encouraged for export and import of goods between the two countries in this period, the ministry said.

The second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in India has brought the healthcare system to the brink of collapse, with patients dying due to lack of oxygen or access to hospital beds.

India on Saturday reported its highest ever single-day COVID-19 death toll, as cases continued to rise and states imposed stricter lockdowns.

Many countries have imposed restrictions on travel from India to avert the spread of the “double mutant” COVID-19 variant.

The original India variant, officially known as B.1.617, has three subtypes -- all with slightly different genetic mutations. The variant B.1.617.2, now found in Bangladesh, appears to be spreading more quickly than two other subtypes.

Bangladesh is also experiencing a grim second wave of infections that forced the government to enforce a nationwide lockdown.

It registered 45 new fatalities from the coronavirus in the daily count published by the government on Saturday, taking the death toll to 11,878.

The caseload rose by 1,285, the lowest daily count since Mar 14, to 772,127, but the detection of the variant prompted health officials to set off an alarm.

“The Indian variant is highly contagious and people must be on the alert,” said Nasima Sultana, an additional director general of the health directorate.