DHAKA, Bangladesh

The head of Bangladesh’s top research lab was asked by the government on Thursday to self-isolate at home after four of its staff tested positive for coronavirus.

A total of eight employees of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) were asked to stay at home, said Nasima Sultana, a senior health official, according to local Daily Star.

Meerjady Sabrina Flora, director of the lab, told Anadolu Agency she was “physically well” and in quarantine “for the sake of the country and its people”.

The government has announced lockdown in the country since March 26 amid criticism from health experts that it was too late in announcing preventive measures.

Health workers have complained of a lack of protective gear and ventilators to treat critically ill patients.

The densely populated South Asian nation has so far recorded 60 deaths from the novel virus and confirmed over 1,500 cases.