Coronavirus
Representative photo.

Bangladesh has confirmed the first coronavirus cases in the country.

The government has urged people not to panic and to consult physicians if they showed any symptoms of the disease.

Two men and a woman — aged between 20 and 35 — tested positive for the virus on Saturday, Institute of Epidemiology, Diseases Control and Research (IEDCR) said.

Two of them were from the same family.

“Two of them returned to Bangladesh from Italy. The woman got infected from contact with one of them,” Daily Star quoted as Sabrina as saying.

He said one had temperature of 99 degrees, one had fever and cough and another had only cough.

“No special treatment is needed for them. They are being given treatment according to their symptoms. They will be kept in isolation until they recover fully,” he said.

Three more Bangladeshis who came in contact with the patients have been quarantined — two in a hospital and one at home.

Although officials have claimed that measures taken were adequate, bureaucratic tangles and lack of coordination posed as a major challenge.

Many hospitals were yet to receive personal protective equipment (PPE) and other things needed for treating coronavirus infected patients.

Sources said the government has supplied around 2,000 PPE to several hospitals.