Bangladeshi students in the time of coronavirus
Several hundred Bangladeshi students are in distress in the wake of the deadly coronavirus outbreak in China
Coronavirus is fanning fear among Bangladeshi students in China as the outbreak of the disease has practically turned the city of Wuhan into a ghost town with no signs of people on the streets.
Not only the super shops around the campuses have shut down, but also the supply of everyday commodities has been hit.
Worried Bangladeshi students from other Chinese cities are also voicing their concerns, taking to social media, asking the Bangladesh Embassy in China to get them out of the country.
"In these trying times, for those of us in Wuhan, it is still the safest place to deal with the virus. No other country in the world is capable of taking measures like Wuhan which is bringing in specialists from everywhere to fight the outbreak," said, Md Enamul Haque, a student of Wuhan University.
"The medical staffs are working non-stop and not even returning home for the Chinese New Year. Working around the clock, they are relaying guidelines to the international students to prevent and tackle the problem."
Shamima Sultana, PhD student at the Central China Normal University, said, "I have two kids. Soon I will have a food supply crisis as there are not many people left on the street. I'm in deep trouble."
"I request the Bangladesh Government to do something immediately to bring us back home before all of us living here fall victim to the virus."
However, Tumpa Pramanik, studying Bachelor of Dental Surgery at the Jingchu University of Technology, said, "We are well and alive. We want to come back home and are following every step to get back to our parents safe, not with the virus."
Bangladesh-China Youth Student Association President AAM Mujahid said, "We still haven't received news of any Bangladeshi living in China getting affected. However, our volunteers are asking all of them to stay safe inside and not to panic.
"All the students are being asked to follow the regulations of their respective universities and not to get out unless it is an emergency."
Deputy Chief of Mission Masudur Rahman of the Bangladesh Embassy in China said there are about 350 Bangladeshis in Wuhan. "We are getting most of the complaints from Wuhan. However, the city is in a dormant state. We are providing a 24-hour hotline service at the Embassy, and the officials are doing their best.
"We are keeping the Bangladesh government and the Chinese government posted. For the Bangladeshis, we have opened the chat group "I am in Wuhan" on WeChat.
The virus with pneumonia-like symptoms has rocked Chinese authorities. Beyond China, the virus has spread to Japan, South Korea, Thailand, the US, Singapore, France and Vietnam.