417 stranded Bangladeshis return from KSA

As many as 417 stranded Bangladeshis, including eight infants, arrived at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport from Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah by a special flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines on Tuesday afternoon, reports UNB.

Sources at the airport said almost all the passengers went to the KSA to perform Umrah. They were stranded in Saudi Arabia as the country suspended air communication with different countries, including Bangladesh, to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The special flight of the state-owned airlines landed at the airport around 4:30 pm.

Contacted, in-charge of the airport health camp Shahriar Sajjad, said physicians are conducting screening of the 417 returnees.

On completion of the process, the returnees who do not have any health complications will be allowed to return home on condition of staying in self-quarantine for 14 days, he said.

Bangladesh on Tuesday confirmed the detection of two more coronavirus patients, taking the total number of cases to 10.

On Monday, IEDCR reported three new cases and confirmed that the virus has started transmitting locally.

The global death toll from coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic climbed to 7,164 on Tuesday. The disease has so far infected 182,550 people around the world, according to worldometer.

Source: prothom-alo