All international flights both inbound and outbound from Bangladesh will remain suspended from 12 am Saturday until March 31.



The countries are Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Malaysia, Oman, Singapore and India, according to AHM Touhid-ul Ahsan, director of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

Only flights from four countries -- China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and England will be allowed to operate, he added.

Civil Aviation Authority Bangladesh (CAAB) Chairman Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman also confirmed the matter to local journos on Saturday.

In order to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 (novel coronavirus 2019) disease in Bangladesh, all scheduled international commercial passenger aircrafts departing from Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Turkey, Malaysia, Oman, Singapore, and India shall not be allowed to land at any international airport of Bangladesh,

Biman Bangladesh Airlines Managing Director and CEO Mokabbir Hossain said in a press release issued on Saturday.

However, Biman’s London and Manchester flights will operate as usual, the release added.

As of on Friday, 20 people were infected with coronavirus in Bangladesh, of which one died and three have recovered.

The coronavirus has infected 275,871 people around the world according to worldometer, as of Saturday.

Of them, 172,561 are currently treated with 7,765 being in serious or critical condition.

So far, 103,310 cases had outcomes and of them, 91,912 (89%) recovered and 11% died.

Covid-19 is affecting 185 countries and territories around the world and one international conveyance (the Diamond Princess cruise ship harboured in Yokohama, Japan).

The World Health Organization on March 11, declared the coronavirus crisis a pandemic.