135 Bangladeshis stopped from disembarking in Rome

Rome, July 9 At least 135 Bangladeshi passengers were rejected from getting off a plane in Rome's Fiumicino Airport over COVID-19 concerns, a health official said.

Italy on Tuesday has suspended flights from Dhaka due to a spike in COVID-19 cases in the Bangladeshi community in Rome caused by arrivals from the South Asian country, reports Xinhua news agency.

The passengers from Dhaka flew from the Qatari capital city of Doha, Alessio D'Amato, head of the Lazio region's Health Authority Crisis Unit, said on Wednesday.

They were sent back to Doha, with the exception of one Bangladeshi woman who is pregnant and has been transferred to a local hospital, while the others were tested for the novel coronavirus at the airport, the official added.

Another 40 Bangladeshi passengers were not allowed to disembark from a Qatari Airways flight that arrived at Milan's Malpensa Airport on Wednesday, reported ANSA Italian news agency, saying that they were also sent back to Doha by the same plane.

( With inputs from IANS )