Bangladeshi citizens in China advised to leave

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Sheikh Shahariar Zaman
Published : 20:19, Jan 26, 2020 | Updated : 21:30, Jan 26, 2020

Passengers wearing masks are seen at Shanghai railway station in Shanghai, China Jan 22, 2020. REUTERSThe Bangladesh embassy in China has advised its citizens to leave the country amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The outbreak that began Wuhan of Hubei province has killed so far 56 people in China and infected more than 2,000 globally, most of them in China.
Deputy Chief of Mission Masudur Rahman of the embassy said Bangladeshis can fly out from Chinese cities, except for Wuhan and other places locked down.
According to the embassy's initial estimates, some 300 Bangladeshis are living in Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak.
"Wuhan is locked down. No Bangladeshi in Wuhan or other places in China has been infected," he told Bangla Tribune on Sunday (Jan 26).
Rahman said that they have urged the Chinese government to ensure "special care for our people".
Any coronavirus case involving foreigners in China is yet to be reported, he said before adding the number of people infected in capital Beijing jumped to 54 on Sunday from 36 the previous day.
"The shops and other businesses are open here [in Beijing] but the streets are deserted," Rahman said.
On allegations of Bangladeshi students in Wuhan of not getting contacted by the embassy, the deputy chief of mission said that they have received complains.
"The city [of Wuhan] is locked down. But we have opened a 24-hour hotline. We have also opened a Bangladeshi group on messaging app WeChat to reach out the citizens instantly," he said.
China said on Sunday that the ability of the new coronavirus to spread is strengthening and infections could continue to rise, reports Reuters.
A handful of cases have been reported outside China, including in Thailand, Australia, the United States and France.
The newly-identified coronavirus has created alarm because there are still many unknowns surrounding it, such as how dangerous it is and how easily it spreads between people. It can cause pneumonia, which has been deadly in some cases.
China's National Health Commission said the incubation period for the virus can range from one to 14 days, and the virus is infectious during incubation, which was not the case with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
SARS was a coronavirus that originated in China and killed nearly 800 people globally in 2002 and 2003.
The new coronavirus, believed to have originated late last year in a seafood market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan that was illegally selling wildlife, has spread to cities including Beijing and Shanghai.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said during a politburo meeting on Saturday that China was facing a "grave situation".

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