Coronavirus: Passengers of Bandhan Express not screened at Benapole

The office of the civil surgeons in Jashore is yet to start screening inbound train passengers from India, a country with confirmed coronavirus cases, at Benapole land port.

Authorities said they started screening passengers in immigration, but were not aware of train passengers earlier.

There is only one weekly train that leaves Kolkata at 7:10am on Thursday and reaches Khulna at 12:30pm.

A second train will start commuting from Feb 16 along this route.

"The station is a bit far from the main parts of the land port. We have received the train schedule today [Sunday]. We have talked to the stationmaster. We will start screening soon," Sheikh Abu Shaheen, Jashore district civil surgeon told The Daily Star last evening.

India's first case of coronavirus was confirmed on January 31, and two more cases have been confirmed since. 

Railways authorities of Bangladesh and India also conduct train communication services on another route, Dhaka-Kolkata via Kusthia's Dorshona land port, four days a week.

Our Kusthia correspondent reported that screening of train passengers on this route is ongoing.

Meanwhile, health staffers at all border entry points across the country screened some 16023 inbound passengers from different countries in 24 hours up to 8:00am yesterday.

None of the passengers were identified with any symptom of novel coronavirus during the screenings, according to the daily report on coronavirus surveillance by the directorate general of health services (DGHS).

Over the 24-hour period, Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport reported the highest number of passengers screened with 8210.

Two other international airports -- MAG Osmani International Airport in Sylhet and Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram screened 488 and 434 passenger respectively.

All the land ports collectively screened a total of 6891 inbound passengers in the last 24 hours.

The control room of the DGHS published the report a day after authorities stepped up surveillance in all land ports and seaports in line with the three international airports.

"We have initiated this surveillance reporting system from today [Sunday]. This will help us monitor every inbound passenger to prevent novel coronavirus from entering the country," Dr Ayesha Akter, assistant director of the control room of DGHS, told The Daily Star.

Earlier on Thursday, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) at the DGHS sent 35 hand-held infrared thermometers, devices that check body temperature without coming in contact with patients, to all ports across the country.

Meanwhile, Director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) Professor Meerjady Sabrina Flora in her daily briefing urged everyone, especially journalists and doctors, to protect the patients' privacy.

"Maintaining confidentiality of the patients suspected, tested or confirmed as infected is important. Otherwise, their personal and social security could be hampered," the IEDCR director said.

She also urged people not to panic about the virus.

Meanwhile, the student who returned from China's Anhui province 11 days ago and was admitted to Rangpur Medical College Hospital with breathing problems, is now well.

He has no symptom of novel coronavirus, the medical team confirmed after completing his health checkup, our correspondent reports.

On Saturday evening, cough and blood samples from the patient was sent to IEDCR in Dhaka for tests.

"We will inform about the test result as soon as we get it in hand," ASM Alamgir, principal scientific officer of IEDCR, told The Daily Star.