Bangladesh: UK expat latest death from coronavirus

DHAKA, Bangladesh

An older woman with coronavirus symptoms died in Bangladesh while three more people tested positive for the virus, raising the tally of cases to 27 on Sunday, according to officials.

The 60-year-old U.K. expatriate died after being admitted to an isolation medical unit in northeastern Bangladesh, Dr. Himangshu Lal Roy, deputy director of the Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College and Hospital, told Anadolu Agency.

She had returned to Bangladesh from Britain on March 4 and visited a doctor after showing coronavirus symptoms on March 16.

Samples of her tissue will be tested for the virus.

Bangladesh’s Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research also said five patients recovered from the virus.

Separately, an Interior Ministry order barred the entry of foreign nationals until further notice, and education officials are working to offer audio-visual classes for pupils who must stay at home, as schools are shuttered through March 31, reported local media.

The virus, which emerged in Wuhan, China last December, has spread to at least 170 countries and regions around the globe, while the tally of confirmed cases has topped 308,000 and the death toll is over 13,000, according to data compiled by U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

Despite the rising number of cases, a vast majority of people contracting the virus suffer mild symptoms before making a recovery.