DHAKA, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Bangladeshi expatriates have been urged not on Thursday to return home in light of COVID-19 outbreak.
Health Minister Zahid Malique made the plea at a press briefing in Dhaka, adding the expatriates who have already returned to the country must stay in self-quarantine for 14 days.
Bangladesh's Health Ministry announced the first three confirmed COVID-19 cases on Sunday.
Two of the victims are Bangladeshi returnees from Italy while another one is their family member in Dhaka.
Professor Meerjady Sabrina Flora, head of the country's Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) under the Health Ministry on Wednesday said in the second set of tests conducted on the three reported cases, they got negative results for two patients.
On Thursday, she said two coronavirus patients will be allowed to go home as further test confirmed that they are fine and free from the virus.
Flora, however, said that the third patient is in stable condition.
In order to prevent spread of the disease, the Bangladeshi government has instructed educational institutions in the country to hold their daily assembly inside classrooms.
The country's Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education also asked the relevant authorities to suspend gatherings for cultural, sports and other activities until further notice.
