Coronavirus: 2 expats fined for violating home quarantine rule in Manikganj

Two overseas returnees, one from Iraq and another from Australia, have been fined by mobile courts in Saturia and Ghior upazilas of Manikganj for breaching rules of home quarantine.

A mobile court fined Iraq-returnee Makbul Hossain, son of Fakir Ali of Moddho Rouha village of the upazila, Tk 10,000 on Monday,

Ashraful Alam, Saturia upazila nirbahi officer (UNO), and also the executive magistrate of the mobile court confirmed the matter.

He said Makbul returned on March 6, and was told to be in self-quarantine for 14 days

Another mobile court led by Ghior UNO and Executive Magistrate Airin Akhter fined Pannu Miah, 70, a resident of Paschim Kushunda village Tk 15,000 for violating the rules.

Pannu returned home on March 16 from Australia. The UNO also put his whole family into home quarantine for 14 days.

The Cabinet on Monday decided that everyone arriving from abroad must stay in 14-day quarantine or else face legal action.

“Whoever is coming from abroad must stay in a 14-day compulsory quarantine. There is no exemption,” Cabinet Secretary Khandkar Anwarul Islam said

On Monday, the government declared that all educational institutions under the Ministry of Education across Bangladesh will be shut from March 18 till 31, in an effort to stem the spread of coronavirus in the country.

Besides, all cinema halls around Bangladesh are going into lockdown mode from March 18 to April 2.

Later, on Monday, the government made 14-day home quarantine mandatory for anyone arriving here from abroad.

Covid-19, a new strain of coronavirus, has killed over 7,000 people around the world.

As of now, over 182,726 people have been infected by the strain, which spread from China’s Wuhan city at the end of December last year.

The government on March 14, had prohibited all incoming flights from Europe, except the United Kingdom, till March 31, to prevent the spread of the disease.