Shakib returns and gets busy
Ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan returned to Bangladesh from the United States in the early hours of Friday amid immense enthusiasm and anticipation regarding his impending return to cricket upon completion of one-year ban, which was lifted on October 29.
Shakib, world's number one all-rounder in ODIs who has a slew of commercial endorsements, wasted little time in getting busy with one such commitment early in the morning. Less than 12 hours after his arrival, Shakib attended the launching ceremony of a super shop, with people thronging to watch him from close quarters as social distancing remained as a huge concern.
When asked for an opinion on general guidelines for returnees from abroad, Dr Habibur Rahman, spokesperson for Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), said if anyone comes out of home during two-week's quarantine period, he/she would break quarantine rules.
"If the passengers show proof of a recent negative test, we ask them to go into home quarantine for 14 days. But if the passengers arrive without any certificate, we put them in institutional quarantine for 14 days," he told The Daily Star yesterday.
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina, on Sunday, asked authorities concerned to ensure proper screening and compulsory quarantine of the returnees from abroad in the context of the second wave of Covid-19 in Europe and elsewhere.
"The time has come once again to make sure proper screening and quarantine of the returnees from abroad. Measures as taken before would have to be put in place again at each of the airports and other ports across the country to confirm whether anyone is entering the country with coronavirus," she said.
According to former unit head of Epidemic Control and Preparedness of ICDDR,B, Anwarul Islam Mitu, even if a passenger has a corona negative certificate upon arrival, there remains a chance for the person to get infected and it is important for the passenger to stay at home quarantine.
"Obviously, it's risky even for a person who has got a corona negative certificate. You might have boarded the aircraft from the United States with a corona negative certificate, but you could still get infected inside the aircraft or at the terminal.
"Although our airport authority is now well equipped with screening passengers, still it is the person's duty to stay at home quarantine for at least ten days after arriving from abroad. In other countries, authorities install a tracking software on all the passengers after arrival and monitor their activities and I think we should have something like that in Bangladesh," said Anwarul.
Bangladesh Cricket Board CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury, however, said Shakib will be under the health guideline of the board once he consults with the BCB medical team.
"He returned with a corona negative certificate. He is yet to consult the BCB's medical team and once he does that, he will be under the health guideline of the BCB," said Chowdhury.
The Daily Star tried to contact Shakib for a statement on this, but the cricketer did not answer the calls and messages.
Comments