DHAKA: The International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB) will be turned into a 2,000-bed Isolation Unit for corona patients, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said on Thursday (April 9).

He hoped, "The unit will be ready within the next 8 to 10 days."

The minister came up with the development while addressing an online health bulletin from his home regarding the country’s latest coronavirus situation.

Earlier, Bashundhara Group’s proposal to set up the country’s largest hospital for corona patients was accepted by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The premier gave the go-ahead after Bashundhara Group Chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan sent a written proposal to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), expressing the desire to set up the hospital amid the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

Managing Director of Bashundhara Group Sayem Sobhan Anvir formally handed over the proposal to Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary Dr Ahmed Kaikaus at the PMO to get the approval from the premier.

Bashundhara Group proposed that a trade centre with 1,50,000 square feet and four convention centres with 90,000 square feet can be turned into hospitals as the country has been fighting to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Later, two teams of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and Bangladesh Army visited the International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB), the proposed site for Bashundhara Group’s 5,000-bed hospital.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh has confirmed one more death from coronavirus disease in the last 24 hours climbing the death toll to 21.

Besides, 112 more people have tested positive, raising the total number of coronavirus cases in Bangladesh to 330, said Health Minister on Thursday (April 9).

BDST: 1625 HRS, APR 09, 2020
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