People are passing undetected through the flawed health screening system at the Dhaka airport. After they land abroad, they get diagnosed with COVID-19. That raises questions over Bangladesh’s airport screening system at a time when the world is still grappling with the pandemic.
Authorities of Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka only check the body temperature and visible symptoms of travellers. Travellers are supposed to go through a tight health screening by specialists, in the light of the ongoing coronavirus crisis, according to experts.
Globally, the aviation routes were made off-limits once the coronavirus pandemic broke out. Bangladesh banned all international flights at the end of May.
With the ban on flights lifted on Jun 15, passengers are supposed to go through several layers of screening before they fly. The airlines are bound to follow the health protocols set by the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh.
Under the circumstances, 17passengers from Bangladesh flying to Guangzhou on a China Southern Airlines flight in mid-June were diagnosed with COVID-19 on arrival there.
Taking the incident into account, the Chinese government ordered China Southern Airlines to suspend the flights to and from Dhaka for the next four weeks.
In a separate incident in April, two passengers flying to Japan on a chartered flight of Bangladesh Biman tested positive for the coronavirus. Japan imposed a ban on Biman's chartered flights, following the incident.
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