Panchagarh to be locked down as first Covid-19 positive case reported

The local administration announced the lockdown of Panchagarh district after a woman tested positive for Covid-19 in Tirnoihat union under Tetulia upazila, the first confirmed case in the district.

Deputy Commissioner of Panchagarh Sabina Yasmin said the lockdown will come into effect in the entire district from 10:00am on Saturday until further notice.

However, the upazila in question came under lockdown from 6:00pm on Friday evening.

The woman, 42, used to live in Dhaka's Mirpur area. She along with her family came to their village home in Tirnoihat union on April 6 and have been placed in home quarantine since, said Dr Fazlur Rahman, civil surgeon of Panchagarh.

Her samples were collected on April 14 and sent to Rangpur Medical College Hospital's lab to be tested for Covid-19. Her test report came back positive for the virus on Friday night, the civil surgeon said.

A total of 145 samples were sent from the district till Friday and only one sample tested positive so far, he added.

Meanwhile, two more people in Thakurgaon tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday, said the district's Civil Surgeon Dr Mahfuzar Rahman Sarcar.

The infected persons are a seven-year-old girl and a 22-year-old man, the civil surgeon said.

Samples from both were collected on April 13 and the reports arrived on Friday night, he said.   

So far, 267 samples were collected from Thakurgaon district till Friday, of which results of 130 were provided and five cases were found to be Covid-19 positive, the civil surgeon added.