Shawdesh Desk: The health ministry has ordered screening of all people coming to Bangladesh from India through the Benapole land port for coronavirus.

In two weeks, 10,536 people have been screened but no case was detected.

However, the rapid spread of the virus has caused panic among Bangladeshis who frequent India.
Between 8,000 and 10,000 people use the land port every day. About 12 percent of them are foreigners.

Meanwhile, the number of global coronavirus cases rose to nearly 14,380, surpassing that of the 2003 Sars epidemic which spread to more than two dozen countries, according to Chinese and World Health Organization data.

The majority of the cases have been reported from China but about 100 cases have been confirmed in 23 other countries.

Deaths caused by the new virus rose to at least 304 globally.

The Philippines has reported the first coronavirus death outside China, reports the South China Morning Post.

Bangladesh brought back 316 of its nationals from Wuhan in China’s Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, on Saturday and kept them at a quarantine unit at Ashkona.