Here are the news headlines so far on March 17, 2020

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina vowes to build Bangladesh as “Sonar Bangla” in the near future as Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman wanted to ensure a better and decent life for the people of this country.

An official from the World Health Organization, the body leading the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic, says that two staff members have been confirmed to be infected with coronavirus.

A week has passed since journalist Shafiqul Islam Kajol went missing, but his family could not yet file a case. Two police stations have been giving Kajol’s family a runaround over the issue.

Islamic Foundation advises people who are returning home from abroad -- suffering from coronavirus-like symptoms such as fever, cold and cough -- to avoid going to mosques and public gatherings to contain the spread of the virus.

Considered the bastion of human activity, progress and community, the world’s cities are taking on a different hue -- one forced upon them by the fear of a coronavirus outbreak.

India’s Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan says he has confined himself to self-quarantine at his residence in New Delhi but tested negative for coronavirus.

At least four people died and five others were injured after an under-construction gate of a college collapsed at Sirajganj’s Tarash upazila this afternoon.

Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) launches a handwash campaign for pedestrians in the city with a view to contain the spread of coronavirus infection.

The World Health Organization (WHO) calls on Southeast Asian countries, including Bangladesh, to urgently scale-up aggressive measures to combat Covid-19, as confirmed cases crossed 480, and the disease claimed eight lives in the region.

Two foreign nationals -- one from the United States and another from Ivory Coast -- who landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) are sent back to their respective countries as they did not have visa.

In order to make the hearing-impaired experience the powerful words and inspiration of the March 7 speech of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Grameenphone has released a sign language version of it.

Here are the news headlines so far on March 17, 2020

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda has said decision on whether to postpone five by-elections and Chattogram City Corporation polls will be taken after assessing the effects of coronavirus across the country.

Bangabandhu would be remembered for his courage and indelible contribution, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi says in a tweet.

National flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines has suspended flights on the Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur route.

A youth from Sylhet is walking from Gopalganj’s Tungipara to Dhaka’s Dhanmondi 32 as a tribute to the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on his birth centenary.

Six Bangladeshis who returned from four different countries -- Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Italy – have been fined by mobile courts in Shariatpur and Manikganj districts for not abiding by the government mandated self-quarantine of fourteen days for all foreign returnees.

The Taj Mahal in Agra and several other key historical monuments across India shut to visitors as part of the country’s ramped-up measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has announced measures to restrict movement nationwide, starting from March 18 until 31, in a bid to stem the rising number of coronavirus cases.