Rashidul Hasan

Several thousand Bangladeshis have been stranded in nine Middle East countries amid suspension of air communications to and from Dhaka for containing Covid-19 spread over the last two weeks.

Mainul Islam was waiting by his rickshaw near an almost deserted Nakhalpara Rail Gate in the capital for over 20 minutes.

Dhaka is eerie quiet, much like most capitals and countries around the world as they grapple with a common enemy -- the spread of the coronavirus. Bangladesh is currently in the midst of a country-wide shut down that has been in force from March 26 and will extend till April 4.

A plane departing Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport is a rare sight these days, as the country’s busiest airport has turned almost deserted due to air communication suspensions over global Covid-19 outbreak.

The prices of essentials, including rice, vegetables, cooking oil, spices, and cleaning items, have increased several folds over the last one week.

Even though the government has closed the door for people travelling into the country from Europe, except the UK, Bangladeshis are still coming home from those countries via London and Manchester, said officials concerned.

The government has decided to suspend all public transport services to slow the spread of novel coronavirus, inching closer to enforcing a lockdown.

Awami League candidate Md Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin won the by-election to Dhaka-10 constituency, held amid the lowest ever voter turnout due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Several hundred Bangladeshis are facing uncertainty over returning home from some Middle Eastern and European countries as they remain stranded there for days following suspension of flight operations, say officials of international carriers.

Biman yesterday brought back 409 Bangladeshis, who had been stranded in Saudi Arabia, on a special flight after the Gulf nation suspended air communication with different countries, including Bangladesh, to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Biman has so far suspended flights to 11 out of the 18 international destinations it serves and more routes could be cut as the coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage countries across the globe.

Three more people have tested positive for coronavirus bringing the country’s total to eight, according to Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research.

As the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise globally, so too does its impact on the country’s tourism sector.

After daylong drama about quarantining people retuning from Italy, the authorities last night allowed 142 of them to go home and asked them to be in self isolation.

Bangladeshi airlines and bus operators yesterday suspended regular passenger-carrying trips to India following India’s sweeping travel restriction on foreigners to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

Despite growing concern over coronavirus, schools in the capital appear to be ill-prepared to contain any possible spread of the virus.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines is heading towards a serious financial crisis due to the global coronavirus fallout.

Measures taken by the IEDCR following the detection of three coronavirus cases have lately raised some concerns.

Biman has halved its international flights as fewer people are flying due to the global coronavirus outbreak.

A few minutes before 2:30pm yesterday, a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight from England’s Manchester landed at the Dhaka airport.