Singapore Foreign Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan phoned his Bangladesh counterpart Dr AK Abdul Momen on Wednesday and informed that the condition of one Bangladeshi among five infected with new coronavirus there is ‘very critical’. “They (Singapore government) are doing their best to take care of him with their top medical services,” Momen told reporters after attending a seminar in Dhaka.
But the 39-year-old is not responding to treatment properly, he said, adding that the Singapore authorities do not want to make his’s name public for maintaining privacy of the patient, but shared it with him. The World Health Organisation declared new coronavirus, emerged from China’s Wuhan city, as global public health emergency as it spreads to all continents of the world.
Bangladesh is so far free from the infection. But five Bangladeshis working in Singapore are taking treatment with the infection. The foreign minister said the critically ill person had some underlying conditions such as lung and kidney problems before getting the virus. “This worsened his condition,” he said, adding that he is in the ICU for 13 days.
Dr Momen thanked Singapore for taking care of Bangladeshi citizens and said Singapore authorities remain “very sensitive and supportive” to Bangladesh community. They are bearing all the costs of treatment. “I assure you we will do whatever necessary on our own cost,” Dr Momen quoted the Singapore Foreign Minister as saying. Balakrishnan also assured of making all necessary arrangements if the person expires.