She suggested that the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) Secretariat could coordinate the regional collaboration on the coronavirus for the safety and security of the people in the region. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday had proposed the videoconference of the Saarc leaders and moderated it on Sunday afternoon. Hasina said Bangladesh was ready to share its capacity and expertise, as well as the best practices with the Saarc countries, including providing logistic support, if required. The prime minister thanked Modi for bringing and hosting 23 of Bangladeshi students, along with Indian students during the quarantine period, from China’s Wuhan city, from where the coronavirus outbreak had started in late December last year. The prime minister said the government has kept four newly-built hospitals in Dhaka dedicated to exclusively deal with Covid-19 patients.

Source: Dhaka Tribune March 15, 2020 15:22 UTC