Community transmission of Covid-19 has begun in Habiganj district. The number of people infected with coronavirus has reached 84. Among them 23 are doctors, nurses and health workers, 6 are government officials and employees. The rest are people of different classes and professions.
The district health department thinks that one of the reasons for community transmission in Habiganj is the returnees from Narayanganj, which is identified as a cluster area. Infection has also increased through returnees from other places, including Dhaka.
Speaking to Habiganj Deputy Civil Surgeon Mukhlesur Rahman Ujjwal, it is learned that on April 11, a truck driver from Narayanganj was infected with COVID-19 in Habiganj. Since then, the number of victims has been increasing almost every day.
It is clear that people who came in contact with the returnees from Narayanganj were largely infected by the virus. As of May 2, total number of coronavirus cases now stands at 74, which is higher than other three districts in Sylhet division. That is why this area is being considered as a 'red zone'.
Till Sunday, samples collected from 2,214 people in the district had been sent to Sylhet Osmani Medical College and Dhaka Lab and 1,529 of them have returned so far.
Earlier, in the first week of April, more than 500 people entered to different upazilas of Habiganj. Most of them are garment workers. “We are strongly enforcing social distancing.
Some community transmission has already started to take place, and it is a dangerous sign. Any further spreading of the disease must be stopped before it wreaks havoc,” Habiganj Deputy Civil Surgeon said.
On the other hand, on April 23 evening, at least 40 people identified as rice harvesters came from Patuakhali by truck and tried to enter Habiganj. Police returned them as the district is in lock down. Earlier, the people who came in 4 buses were also returned.
In this regard, Patuakhali Deputy ommissioner Matiul Islam Chowdhury said, “The whole district is under lockdown until further notice. We are not allowing anyone to move. We are not sure how those labourers went outside the district. But if it is true, we will not allow them to enter again.”
The people in the truck could not enter Habiganj nor can they enter Patuakhali. Now the question is where will they go? Many think that they entered Habiganj at night and later went to different places in Sylhet. The local conscious community also thinks that home quarantine should be ensured for those people.