Give details of contingency plan
The High Court yesterday sought detailed information on the steps taken by the government to contain any possible outbreak of coronavirus in the country.
The court asked Deputy Attorney General Abdullah-Al-Mahmud Bashar to collect information from the director general of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and the health ministry and submit a report to it by Monday.
It asked DAG Bashar to get information on whether there was adequate equipment to screen people for coronavirus at the ports, treatment facilities at the hospitals across the country and steps taken by the government to create awareness among the people about the virus.
The HC bench of Justice FRM Nazmul Ahasan and Justice KM Kamrul Kader passed the order on a suo moto move, following a report run by Bangla daily Prothom Alo yesterday on the risk of a coronavirus outbreak.
Supreme Court lawyer Ishrat Hasan placed the report before the HC bench and sought its necessary order.
The government finalised an emergency preparedness plan to tackle any possible spread of coronavirus in the country.
The move comes as coronavirus continues to spread across the world, claiming lives every day.
Experts say Bangladesh also faces risks of coronavirus spread as many other countries in the region have already reported such cases. They pointed out that people from those countries were travelling to Bangladesh, where preparations to tackle the virus seem inadequate.
The US State Department on Tuesday put Bangladesh and 24 other countries in a list of "high-priority countries" in the coronavirus fallout. It also announced a commitment of $37 million to help the countries address the threat of COVID-19 (coronavirus), according to its website.
Comments