Health Minister Zahid Maleque has advised travellers making plans to visit India to tread cautiously as COVID-19 cases have been surging in the neighbouring country.
In the last 24 hours, according to the official estimate of the Indian central government, 2,593 new cases of the virus were detected, while 44 died of the disease. On Saturday, the numbers were 2,523 and 33 respectively, reports bdnews24.com.
India has consistently recorded an average infection rate below 1,500 till Apr 18.
“At present, the (COVID-19) situation in Bangladesh is under control. We have recorded zero deaths for multiple days. We need to maintain the status quo and stay alert so that infection rates do not rapidly increase again,” Zahid said while speaking at an event.
The event was organised to observe National Nutrition Week on Sunday at the National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine (NIPSOM) auditorium in Dhaka.
As India has recently lifted a restriction on tourism, a large number of Bangladeshis have been planning to travel the country during the Eid-ul-Fitr holidays, as evidenced by the long queues of visa seekers outside the Indian visa centres in Dhaka.
Lauding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s leadership for Bangladesh’s success in countering the disastrous effect of the pandemic, the health minister said her active engagement with the vaccination effort has made sure almost everyone in the country has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Not only that, the health sector has flourished in the last 10 years under her (Sheikh Hasina) leadership. Now we can facilitate health service at everyone’s doorstep - it’s all because of her,” Zahid said.