Dhaka: A total of 28 Bangladeshis who arrived in Sylhet from the United Kingdom five days ago have tested positive for Covid-19.

They have been hospitalized under government management, Sylhet Metropolitan Police’s Additional Deputy Commissioner BM Ashraf Ullah Taher said on January 25.

All of the UK returnees were in quarantine at various hotels since their arrival on January 21.

Ashraf said as many as 157 expatriate Bangladeshis came to Sylhet on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight from the UK. They were sent to institutional quarantine under the supervision of the army and police.

Initially, all of them tested negative for the virus.

They were scheduled to stay in quarantine for four days. Their samples were again tested on January 24, a day before they were to leave quarantine.

“28 of the samples returned positive results,” the police officer said.

Of them, 15 were staying at Hotel Nurjahan, five at Britania, four at Holygate, and three at La Rose, and another at Holy Side.

“We’ve admitted them to a 31-bed hospital at Khadimpara and keeping an eye on them,” the SMP officer said.

Many countries have suspended air travel with the UK after a new strain of the virus was identified there. But the national flag carrier Biman is continuing two weekly flights to the UK.

On January 25, 143 people came from the country. They were sent to quarantine after they landed at the Osmani Airport.

It is still unclear whether Biman would suspend operating flights to the UK after the new cases were identified.

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