Coronavirus: 2 Bangladeshi patients test negative

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Two of the first three confirmed cases of coronavirus in Bangladesh will go home today as their latest tests showed negative for the infectious disease, an official confirmed Thursday.

Dr. ASM Alamgir, principal scientific officer at the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control, and Research, told Anadolu Agency on Thursday that in light of the negative tests, the two patients “will be released and go home today.”

On Wednesday, at a regular media briefing on the coronavirus situation in Bangladesh, the institute said the two patients were found to be negative in one medical test and they would be allowed to go home if a second test confirmed the negative results.

These actions are being taken in line with expert and World Health Organization (WHO) protocols, the institute added.

The cases had been initially found on March 8.

The novel coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, China, last December and has now spread to 114 countries.

The global death toll is now almost 4,300, with around 118,000 confirmed cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which has declared the outbreak “a global pandemic”.