NEW DELHI, June 17: With no sign of the pandemic calming down in the North East, neighbouring Bangladesh, which has a vast and porous border with India, has decided to extend the restrictions till this month end, an announcement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Dhaka today said.
Bangladesh had closed its border with India on April 26 following a surge in infections of the so-called Delta variant of the disease, which was first detected in India. The variant has alarmed health experts because of its highly transmissible nature and has also been blamed for more severe illness and a higher fatality rate among patients.
But Bangladeshis in India whose visas are valid for 15 days or less will be allowed to return home, provided they quarantine for two weeks, the ministry said.
As concerns grew over the Delta variant, Bangladesh’s National Technical Advisory Committee asked the government to close the border.
The country detected its first few cases of the variant on May 8 and there are concerns it could have taken hold in the population.
Fatalities appear to be on the rise in Bangladesh too once again, with 47 deaths reported on Sunday by the Directorate General of Health Services, the highest toll since early May. Bangladesh has reported more than 13,000 deaths from COVID-19.
Bangladesh had shut its borders with India earlier in April, and the border closure was extended twice — on May 8 and then on May 29 — in view of the lethal, more infectious second of the coronavirus disease pandemic.
