The government of Bangladesh has been on high alert since the outbreak of coronavirus in Wuhan, China. The initiative to set up quarantine units in the country’s hospitals is laudable. Even though no such cases of infection has been reported in Bangladesh so far, it is better to be prepared if such a thing occurs. Moreover, it is the proactive nature of the government that is being shown here through the steps and initiatives taken to prevent any mass outbreak.
A report published recently in this daily shows that already the government has kept an aircraft ready and opened a registration process for the voluntary return of some 500 students from the epicenter of the outbreak. It is important to bring back these students. However, it is more important to follow proper quarantine procedures and screen the students thoroughly once they return to the country.
It is more important to follow proper quarantine
procedures and screen the students
thoroughly once they return to the country
The hospitals and related personnel are the key here. They will play the pivotal role if a case is detected. Now, after the disastrous situation that was created by dengue near the end of last year, the conscious people are always pondering on various issues. And as such questions like—how much ready is Bangladesh to face this outbreak? Can the public hospitals properly manage quarantine properly? Are there adequate equipment and properly trained personnel available in Bangladesh? These questions remain unanswered so far since there has been no reported case of coronavirus in Bangladesh yet.
One cannot emphasise enough about the importance of properly managing isolation units at hospitals to prevent infection in the face of an outbreak. Also, an important note for the media should be that no sensation is created on this issue like it was created in case of dengue fever.
