In a wakeup call, the health chief has said that the coronavirus is not going away anytime soon from Bangladesh – it can take years to go.
“The infection rate may come down at one point of time in the next two or three months, but the virus is likely to exist for next two or three years or more,” Director General for Health Prof Abul Kalam Azad said, appearing in the daily virtual bulletin on Thursday.
He made the comment citing the global experiences of COVID-19 and opinions of public health experts.
Thursday was the 103th day of the outbreak in Bangladesh. The number of cases now surpassed 100,000 with half of them detected in the last 16 days indicating the peak of the infection.
It took nearly two months to identify the first 10,000 cases.
The government confirmed the first cases on March 8, three days before the WHO’s declaration that the disease is pandemic. The first death was recorded on March 18 in Bangladesh.
But there is no population based study as yet to indicate the current infection rate. Cases rose with the increasing rate of testing.
The direction general said the “upward trend of the virus may reduce gradually, but we have to wait for a certain period of time to get rid of the virus”.
So far the government confirmed 1,343 patients died of the disease.
Prof Azad urged all to adhere to the health rules strictly to prevent the spread. Those include wearing masks in public places, maintaining physical distancing and washing hands with soap.
“We have to be aware of the disease,” he said. “Health protection measures are the best remedies to prevent the pandemic”.
“Bangladesh is a densely populated country and this virus is highly contagious and virulent. Therefore, it is hard to rein in the virus unless health guidelines are religiously followed,” he said.
WHO said data from published epidemiology and virologic studies provide evidence that COVID-19 is primarily transmitted from symptomatic people to others who are in close contact through respiratory droplets, by direct contact with infected persons, or by contact with contaminated objects and surfaces.
In an analysis of 75,465 COVID-19 cases in China found that airborne transmission was not reported.
People of all ages can be infected by the new coronavirus.
Older people, and people with pre-existing medical conditions such as obesity, asthma, diabetes, and heart disease appear to be more vulnerable to becoming severely ill with the virus.
WHO advises people of all ages to take steps to protect themselves from the virus, for example by following good hand hygiene and good respiratory hygiene.
Bangladesh started to contain the virus announcing general holidays from March 26. But all offices and shops were reopened on May 31.
Recently the government devised another plan of zonal lockdown as the number of cases was rising.
The government divided areas into red, yellow and green based on the density of the virus.
The director general at the briefing also talked on the zonal lockdown issue.
“As per the prevalence of coronavirus, we’ll declare a red zone in particular areas and manage those areas to halt the spread of the virus,” he said.
“The government is working hard to strike a balance between life and livelihood despite the sweeping global spread of Covid-19 and its containment measures”.
At the same time, he said they are also expanding the testing and treatment facilities.
“The work to build sustainable capabilities has accelerated under the guidance of the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who recently appointed 2,000 doctors and 5,000 nurses to join the fight against the pandemic.
“Besides steps to ensure quality treatment, at both government and private hospitals, are also being taken,” he said, adding that they are taking the RT-PCR tests to districts.
“Central oxygen supply systems and ICU facilities will be extended up to the districts as soon as possible,” he said.
People have been asked to contact hotline and mobile numbers - 16263; 333; 10655 and 01944333222 – to receive information and treatment facilities on COVID-19.
