Finally Chattogram Airport Gets Thermal Scanner

Two days after first coronavirus cases are identified in the region, a thermal scanner will be installed at Shah Amanat International Airport as part of preventive measures to stop the virus from spreading.

The thermal scanner, which is used to identify people with high body temperature, primary coronavirus signs, arrived at the airport on Tuesday afternoon, and will soon be installed, said the airport authorities.

Another thermal scanner to test international ship crew leaders will be mounted at the Chittagong seaport.

Earlier that day, the United News of Bangladesh released a special report on the lack of thermal scanners at the Chattogram seaport and airport.

Civil Surgeon of the district Sheikh Fazle Rabbi said five hand thermometers have been used since January to screen passengers at the airport as the previous thermal scanner went out of order seven months back.

Health checkups would begin on Wednesday using the new thermal scanner, he said, adding that another thermal scanner would soon be mounted at the seaport.

Earlier, a red alert was issued at the airport on January 20 after the deadly virus outbreak in Wuhan of China.

Passengers had alleged that the measures were insufficient at the airport to prevent the virus from entering the country.

In different shifts a total of nine doctors tested passenger temperatures at the airport.

Acting Airport Manager Mahmud Aktar said the previous thermal scanner was installed at the airport in 2015 which went out of service seven months back.

Health Minister Zahid Maleque said the government is fully ready to tackle the coronavirus situation. “Medical teams have been deployed at airports and land ports. Those coming from abroad are undergoing tests. The government is alert about the situation,” he said in an interview with UNB.

Mahmud Akhter, acting manager of Chattogram airport, said there has been no direct flight from China but they are monitoring Chinese flights arriving here via Thailand, Singapore, and Japan.

The port authorities had been observing people in ships in a 14-day quarantine at sea before permitting them to enter the port.

The first three coronavirus patients were detected in Bangladesh on Sunday. The infected patients include two men and one woman, and all of them were kept in quarantine.

The global death toll from the virus climbed to 4,038 on Tuesday while the number of infections rose to 116,038, according to Worldometer.

Of the infected people, 64,277 made a full recovery which is 94 percent of the infected people.

The coronavirus COVID-19 has affected 115 countries and territories around the world and 1 international conveyance (the Diamond Princess cruise ship harbored in Yokohama, Japan).

Source: UNB