WUHAN, China: As Wuhan, the Chinese city where the COVID-19 pandemic began, revs up a massive testing campaign, some residents crowding the test centers expressed concern on Saturday that the very act of getting tested could expose them to the coronavirus.
Safety has become a hot topic on social media groups among the 11 million residents of Wuhan, people told Reuters as they converged on open-air test sites at clinics and other facilities. Many said, though, that they support the voluntary campaign.
Wuhan health authorities sprang back into action after confirming last weekend the central Chinese city’s first cluster of new infections since it was released from virtual lockdown on April 8.
The new cases — all of them people who had previously shown no symptoms of the disease — spurred Wuhan authorities to launch a citywide search for asymptomatic carriers of the virus, aiming to gauge the level of COVID-19 risk.
“Some people have expressed worry in the (social media) groups about the tests, which require people to cluster, and whether there’s any infection risk,” said one Wuhan resident who asked not to be named.
“But others rebutted those worries, saying such comments are not supportive of the government.”
The unprecedented scale of testing indicates the official level of concern, some experts say. Others say it is an extremely costly exercise and question its effectiveness.
At a testing kiosk in Jianghan district in central Wuhan, a volunteer was patrolling and spraying disinfectant at a long line of people.
Many people observed social distancing, such as queuing 1 meter apart, and there were signs to remind them. But just as many did not. In some cases, volunteer workers were not insisting that they comply.
At another open-air testing kiosk, where throat swabs were taken, yellow and black stickers on the ground kept people from converging.
But at the back of the long queue, about 40 people gathered with no guidance from officials or volunteers.
Residents said the authorities have not told them when they would get the results of their tests.
China has confirmed 82,941 cases of COVID-19 as of Friday and 4,633 deaths. The government does not include people found to be asymptomatic carriers of the virus in its tally and does not publish a cumulative number of asymptomatic cases.
Crowds at Wuhan clinics fear coronavirus testing could rekindle disease
https://arab.news/5wxe3
Crowds at Wuhan clinics fear coronavirus testing could rekindle disease
- Safety has become a hot topic on social media groups among the 11 million residents of Wuhan
- City reported first cluster of new infections since it was released from virtual lockdown on April 8
Saudi ambassador becomes first foreign envoy to meet Bangladesh’s new PM
- Tarique Rahman took oath as PM last week after landslide election win
- Ambassador Abdullah bin Abiyah also meets Bangladesh’s new FM
Dhaka: Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Dhaka became on Sunday the first foreign envoy to meet Bangladesh’s new Prime Minister Tarique Rahman since he assumed the country’s top office.
Rahman’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party made a landslide win in the Feb. 12 election, securing an absolute majority with 209 seats in the 300-seat parliament.
The son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and former President and BNP founder Ziaur Rahman, he was sworn in as the prime minister last week.
The Saudi government congratulated Rahman on the day he took the oath of office, and the Kingdom’s Ambassador Abdullah bin Abiyah was received by the premier in the Bangladesh Secretariat, where he also met Bangladesh’s new foreign minister.
“Among the ambassadors stationed in Dhaka, this is the first ambassadorial visit with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman since he assumed office,” Saleh Shibli, the prime minister’s press secretary, told Arab News.
“The ambassador conveyed greetings and best wishes to Bangladesh’s prime minister from the king and crown prince of Saudi Arabia … They discussed bilateral matters and ways to strengthen the ties among Muslim countries.”
Rahman’s administration succeeded an interim government that oversaw preparations for the next election following the 2024 student-led uprising, which toppled former leader Sheikh Hasina and ended her Awami League party’s 15-year rule.
New Cabinet members were sworn in during the same ceremony as the prime minister last week.
Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman is a former UN official who served as Bangladesh’s national security adviser during the interim government’s term.
He received Saudi Arabia’s ambassador after the envoy’s meeting with the prime minister.
“The foreign minister expressed appreciation for the Saudi leadership’s role in promoting peace and stability in the Middle East and across the Muslim Ummah. He also conveyed gratitude for hosting a large number of Bangladeshi workers in the Kingdom and underscored the significant potential for expanding cooperation across trade, investment, energy, and other priority sectors, leveraging the geostrategic positions of both countries,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The Saudi ambassador expressed his support to the present government and his intention to work with the government to enhance the current bilateral relationship to a comprehensive relationship.”
Around 3.5 million Bangladeshis live and work in Saudi Arabia. They have been joining the Saudi labor market since 1976, when work migration to the Kingdom was established during the rule of the new prime minister’s father.
Bangladeshis are the largest expat group in the Kingdom and the largest Bangladeshi community outside Bangladesh and send home more than $5 billion in remittances every year.
