3 India returnee students test Covid-19 positive in Burimari

Three students who returned from India tested positive for Covid-19 while they were in quarantine at a residential hotel in Burimari Land Port of Patgram upazila in Lalmonirhat.

Of the 44 students in quarantine, the health department collected samples of 26 students today and three tested positive, reports our Lalmonirhat correspondent quoting Patgram Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer (UHFPO) Dr Islam.

"The other 23 were released this afternoon after completion of the quarantine period. The samples of rest of the 18 students have been sent to Rangpur Medical College and their results will be available within two to three days," the doctor told The Daily Star.

"Samples of the three students who tested Covid-19 positive were sent to Icddr,b to find out the variant of the virus. Since these students are from India, it is a matter of concern," added Dr Islam.

Health workers and police are monitoring the conditions of the three students at the hotel, said the doctor.

These students are from different parts of the country. They have been studying at different English medium schools in Darjeeling town of West Bengal in India. They came to Bangladesh through the Burimari customs checkpoint with special permission to celebrate Eid. They were taken to institutional quarantine on instructions of the government.