COVID-19 forces Russia to pull out nuclear scientists from Bangladesh

Russian government orders Rosatom to fly-out 178 nuclear scientists, engineers, and technical workers out of the Rooppur nuclear plant

New Delhi:  In a bid to safeguard Russian scientists, and engineers from the threat of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in Bangladesh, Moscow has pulled out 178 people from the Rooppur Nuclear Power Project (RNPP).

The move comes close on the heels after a Belarus national, working at the RNPP, last week was rushed to Dhaka, after he exhibited primary symptoms of the infection. The development was captured by the News21, which had also cited a possible extraction of all Russian scientists, engineers, and technical workers in the coming days.

The report was corroborated by the press release issued by the Rosatom – the state atomic energy corporation of Russia, which confirmed flying out a total of 178 its employees working at the RNPP from Bangladesh on 6 April via a chartered flight. 

According to the release, the employees were extracted out with the permission of Russia’s government, which arranged a special flight to fly them from Dhaka to Nizny Novgorod.

The release claimed that even with the exit of the 178 employees the project work on the RNPP will not be hampered. All (178 employees) are in good health as no COVID-19 case has been reported at the Rooppur NPP construction site. But still, as per the Russian Federation rules, they will spend 14 days in isolation at a special facility in Nizhny Novgorod under supervision.

After the situation normalizes, all employees who desired to return will be able to come back to their respective workplaces abroad, the release said. 

Currently, more than 2,000 Russian nationals and foreigners from other Scandinavian countries are working at Rooppur Nuclear Plant construction. The RNPP – is Bangladesh’s first nuclear plant, which is likely to produce electricity by 2023. The project is being constructed through financial and technical support from Russia.

The number of novel coronavirus infection cases continues to rise in the country, with 112 new cases detected while one more death confirmed in the past 24 hours. The total number of infected has reached 330, while the death toll is 21.