The hall authorities of Dhaka University (DU) asked all the residential students to vacate the halls as a precautionary measure to stop the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The decision was taken in a syndicate meeting today where students have been instructed to leave their respective dormitories by Friday 6pm.

Syndicate member and the president of Dhaka University Teachers' Association Dr ASM Maksul Kamal confirmed the matter to The Business Standard.

DU has also extended the closed down period till March 31 2020, which previously was March 28 amid coronavirus outbreak.

Earlier, the government has taken the decision of closing all the educational institutions from March 17 to 31 as a precautionary measure to coronavirus.

Bangladesh reported its first death from coronavirus infection on Wednesday. The total number of coronavirus infected persons stood at 17 as of Thursday in the country.