DHAKA: Dhaka issued a letter to Beijing to bring back Bangladeshi students, who are now in coronavirus-stricken China.

However, China on Monday (January 27) informed that the country would not release any foreign nationals from the coronavirus-infected area in the next two weeks. At the same time, no foreigner will be allowed to go there as the country has taken measures to prevent the virus.

Bangladesh government will make the arrangement to bring back its citizens as per the directives, state minister for foreign affairs Shahriar Alam said in a Facebook post on Monday. 

"We’ve started discussions with the Chinese government in this regard,” he added.

The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in China soared to 106 on Tuesday with 1,771 new cases confirmed, authorities said, as the infection that emerged in the central province of Hubei late last year continued to spread.

The health commission in Hubei, the epicentre of the outbreak, said 24 more people had died from the virus and 1,291 more people had been infected, raising the total number of infections there to 2,714.

At least 4,515 people have now been infected in China, but cases have also been confirmed elsewhere in Asia, as well as in Europe and North America among people who had recently been in Wuhan.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Embassy in Beijing has opened a hotline number +(86)-17801116005 for Bangladeshis.

There are about 300 to 400 Bangladeshi students in Wuhan, according to the foreign ministry in Dhaka.

BDST: 1231 HRS, JAN 28, 2020
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