14-day quarantine must for all UK returnees

All the UK returnees must stay in a 14-day institutional quarantine as the Cabinet yesterday made it mandatory in the wake of the spread of a new variant of Covid-19 in the United Kingdom.

The decision came at the Cabinet meeting held at the secretariat when another 161 passengers from the UK landed in Bangladesh yesterday amid the news of spread of a new strain of Covid-19 in the US.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina chaired the meeting joining it virtually from the Gono Bhaban, reports UNB.

"Every returnee, whoever arrives by London flights, will have to stay in quarantine. Even if he or she tested Covid-19 negative yesterday, the person will have to stay in a 14-day quarantine compulsorily," said Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul while briefing reporters after the meeting.

There were two options -- suspension of flight operation with London or going for strict quarantine for London returnees -- at the meeting. Finally, the Cabinet decided to enforce stricter quarantine rules for them, he said.

The Cabinet secretary said the returnees must stay in either the government quarantine or any hotel under supervision of the government.

A notification will be issued for the enforcement of the quarantine rule, said Secretary Khandker Anwarul.

After a meeting last night, Prof ABM Khurshid Alam, director general of Directorate General of Health Services, told this correspondent that the mandatory quarantine would be enforced from January.

Yesterday, 144 passengers landed at the Osmani International Airport, Sylhet, by a Biman flight from the UK and 17 others at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport by the same flight, Nasrin Akter, a doctor at the health desk at HSIA, told The Daily Star.

After their health screening, all the passengers were allowed to go home as they had Covid-19 negative certificates.

"But they will have to be in home quarantine for 14 days," added Dr Nasrin.

Several health experts opined for suspension of air communications with the UK following finding of the new strain of Covid-19 in that country.

At least 40 countries have so far suspended air communications with the UK, according to media reports.

On December 24, some 165 people, including five infants, who reached the Sylhet airport from the UK by a Biman flight, were allowed to go home following their health screening and as they had Covid-19 negative certificates.

In the same flight, another 29 passengers landed at the Dhaka airport. Two of them were sent to institutional quarantine at Diabari in the capital's Uttara.

Meanwhile, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader yesterday said the first shipment of the Covid-19 vaccines would reach the country by the end of January or early February next year.

He told a regular briefing at his residence.

NEW DEATHS

Twenty-seven more people died from Covid-19 in 24 hours ending 8:00am yesterday, said a press release of the Directorate General of Health Services.

With them, the number of deaths reached 7,479 and the death rate was 1.47 percent.

At least 932 new infections were recorded in the meantime, taking the number of people infected to 5,10,080, said the release.

Against 12,617 tests in those 24 hours, the positivity rate was 7.39 percent, while the overall positivity rate was 16.02 percent.

In the same 24 hours, 1,357 Covid-19 patients recovered, raising the number of recoveries to 4,53,318.

The recovery rate stood at 88.87 percent.

Among the 27 deceased, 23 were males.

One was aged between 41 and 50, two were aged between 31 and 40, six between 51 and 60, and 18 were above 60 years old, added the release.