The shipping ministry has taken precautionary measures at the sea ports as the coronavirus outbreak in China has prompted global travel restrictions and evacuations.
The authorities have installed two-tier measures, which are comprised of thermal detection and quarantine facilities, at the sea ports in Chattogram, Mongla and Payra, a statement by the ministry said on Sunday (Feb 2).
According to the statement, the ship captains and agents are asked to make proper announcement regarding the prevention of coronavirus before entering port limits.
“The shipmasters have to announce that all boarding sailors of their vessels are coronavirus-negative before entering the ports. Apart from that, all sailors from East Asia have to be screened and declared safe by the port health officer to enter the ports,” it reads.
“Ambulance ships are kept stand-by in case of emergency for transferring patients to hospital,” it reads.
Medical teams led by the port's health officer will be on duty round the clock at the immigration desk. No seaman will be allowed to exit from port without medical clearance, according to the statement.
All duty officers and staff at the ports have been advised to wear masks and take other preventive measures.
Chinese employees at the port offices are barred to travel back home, while those on leave have been advised not to return, says the shipping ministry statement.
As of Saturday (Feb 1), the death toll in the fast-spreading virus has climbed to 304 in China while the Philippines have reported the first overseas death on Sunday (Feb 2).
China is facing mounting isolation as other countries introduce travel curbs, airlines suspend flights, and governments evacuate their citizens, risking worsening a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.
Around two dozen other countries and regions have reported more than 130 cases, none of which have been fatal yet except for the Philippines. Most of them have been in people who had recently travelled to or were visiting from Hubei.
The World Health Organization this week declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, but said global trade and travel restrictions are not needed.
However, some countries are responding to fears of the virus spreading by ramping up border controls. Singapore and the United States announced measures on Friday to ban foreign nationals who have recently been in China from entering their territories, and Australia followed suit on Saturday.