Bangladesh Mulls China Travel Ban amid Virus Outbreak

With 56 people killed and almost 2,000 diagnosed with the latest coronavirus in China, Bangladesh is contemplating implementing a temporary trip to and from the country.

On Sunday (January 26), Minister of Health Zahid Maleque said that in the wake of the spread of the virus and confirmed cases outside China, Bangladesh is mulling steps in this regard.

His remarks came during an emergency meeting, the health ministry said in a statement.

The proposed ban would be discussed at an inter-ministerial meeting scheduled for Tuesday (Jan 28), it quoted the minister saying.

Many Bangladeshis go to China for business purposes, and it would be devastating if the virus spreads to Bangladesh. At the inter-ministerial conference, the planned immediate travel ban would be addressed with priority," Maleque said.

A handful of cases have been reported outside China, including in Thailand, Australia, the United States and France.

The newly-identified coronavirus has created alarm because there are still many unknowns surrounding it, such as how dangerous it is and how easily it spreads between people. It can cause pneumonia, which has been deadly in some cases.

China's National Health Commission said the incubation period for the virus can range from one to 14 days, and the virus is infectious during incubation, which was not the case with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

SARS was a coronavirus that originated in China and killed nearly 800 people globally in 2002 and 2003.

The new coronavirus, believed to have originated late last year in a seafood market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan that was illegally selling wildlife, has spread to cities including Beijing and Shanghai.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said during a politburo meeting on Saturday that China was facing a "grave situation".