Quarantine facility at airport not up to WHO standard

Bangladesh beefed up security and monitoring at the land, sea and airports amid the new coronavirus that originated in China’s Wuhan and is fast spreading to other countries.
Although the three thermal scanners at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport is operational the quarantine zone is has not been prepared as per the World Health Organisation (WHO) standard.
The government started special screening for coronavirus from Jan 20 with the three thermal scanners that were set up in November 2014 due to the Ebola outbreak worldwide back then.
Out of the three scanners, one is for the VIP zone while the others are in the terminal for general people. All three machines are currently operational but they have been known to break down every now and then.
The airport has a health centre for providing primary treatment to employees, airport sanitation and fumigation and identifying patients with infectious diseases. However, it lacks manpower, space and equipment.
Although the WHO and International Civil Aviation Organization has guidelines regarding airports, those are not being followed at the Dhaka airport. Passengers with coronary problems and infectious diseases are at most risk.
According to the WHO guideline, if a thermal detector identifies a person having an infectious disease, they are supposed to be handed over to a quarantine hospital.
Although initiatives were undertaken to converts a building near the hanger gate to a quarantine hospital, it was later given to Rapid Action Battalion to use as headquarters. The airport doesn’t have a separate gate to take the patients out.
Later, a room at the bottom floor of the terminal building was converted to a quarantine room but it was not prepared as per international standards.
As per the rules, a person in quarantine is supposed to be kept confined to the area without any contact with the outside. The doctors themselves are supposed to wear special suits while treating them.
However, the quarantine room at Dhaka airport has neither eating nor bathroom facilities. Any person exposed to a virus or infection will have to rely on the public toilets.
The health ministry’s Pathology Department Senior Advisor Nasir Ahmed Khan says that they do not immediately need quarantine facilities for coronavirus because if the thermal scanners detect anyone, they would be sent to Kurmitola General Hospital directly.