Covid-19 surge: Satkhira border areas on high alert

Border areas of Satkhira district have been put on high alert considering a surge in Covid-19 cases in neighbouring India.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel have been asked to stay vigilant along the border with India to prevent entry of people from the neighbouring country without mandatory health checks.

Commanding Officer of Satkhira BGB-33 Battalion, Lt Col Al Mahmud, said, "The spread of the Indian Covid-19 variant has pushed the neighbouring country's healthcare system on the brink.

"We don't want a similar situation in Bangladesh. So, we are keeping a strict vigil on the bordering areas. The idea is to make people legally entering the country undergo mandatory checks and quarantine, and stop the illegal entry."

The border guards have identified the Bhomra, Gazipur, Kushkhali, Kaliani, Madra, Kakdanga and Toluigacha border areas of the district as "vulnerable", he said.

A total of 590 mobile patrol teams are working to ensure the restriction on the border areas. Already BGB patrol teams have detained eight people for entering the country without valid documents and handed them over to police.

"We are doing our best to protect our borders," said Mahmud.