At least 12 workers of a readymade garment factory fell sick at their workplace due to unknown reason in Savar yesterday.
They were admitted to nearby Habib Clinic and Diagnostic Centre at Dakkhin Bypile and the authorities of Donglian Fashion (BD) Ltd kept the factory closed for the day, factory sources said.
The sick workers include Mahfuzul (27), Arif Hossein (30), Mosharaf Hossein (27), Sourav (25), Arifa (25), Mst Baby (25), Aleya (30), Rina Akter (27), Shyamoli (27) and Ismail (60). However, two other workers’ names could not be known immediately.
Workers said a woman first vomited and suffered from bad headache around 8:15am. Other workers started falling ill after she had been taken to the clinic.
Workers claimed they had been suffering from such physical problems for the last few days although the authorities denied it.
Doctors at the health care centre told reporters that they were treating the workers but were yet to identify the cause behind their illness.
Savar Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer Dr Sayemul Huda said he was not aware of the incident. It might be symptoms of Covid-19 or food poisoning, he said.
“Firstly, I urge the sick workers to get tested for coronavirus,” he added.
Contacted, Rafiqul Islam, manager (admin and compliance) of the factory, told The Daily Star that around 150 workers joined work in the morning like every day.
A female worker fell sick first and she was taken to hospital, he said. After a while, six to seven workers fell onto the floor due to dizziness. “Actually, we are still to understand what had happened to them.”
Rafiqul added that following the incident, panic spread fast among the workers.
Sorwar Hossain, organising secretary of Bangladesh Textile and Garments Workers League, told the newspaper that they heard that workers of the factory often fall sick.
