The government on Thursday after the deadliest overnight raised the coronavirus alert and said the entire Bangladesh was at risk of the virus.This followed the mid-day bulletin that 10 patients died and 341 new cases were detected in the last 24 hours which were the highest so far.
Director General for health services Prof Abul Kalam Azad later in the evening in an office order said the government declared all the districts at risk.The authorities put 28 districts on lockdown until Thursday.
The director general also reminded the citizens about the infectious disease control law and said actions would be taken to those who violate government orders which staying at home and not to go out without any emergencies.
People have been reminded about the announcement that they must stay at home from 6pm to 6am.Earlier Additional director general for health services Prof Dr Nasima Sultana said while updating the nation in a live bulletin said no one recovered during the last 24 hours.
With the update, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases stood at 1572 in Bangladesh with 60 deaths.The government tested 2019 samples in the last 24 hours and confirmed those new cases, the highest single-day figure so far. They have collected 2,135 samples during the period.
“We have collected the highest number of samples in the past 24 hours. The sample collection rate is 4 percent higher than Wednesday and the test rate is 16 percent higher,” Prof Nasima said as they prepare the update by taking reports between 8am to 8am.
Of the 10 people who died, one was aged between 71 years and 80 years, five between 61 years and 70 years. Three between 51 years and 60 years and another between 21 years and 30 years, she said.
Seven are male and three are female. Six of them were from Dhaka and four outside the capital, she said.Coronavirus disease causes respiratory illness (like the flu) with symptoms such as a cough, fever, and in more severe cases, difficulty breathing.
It spreads primarily through contact with an infected person when they cough or sneeze.It also spreads when a person touches a surface or object that has the virus on it, then touches their eyes, nose, or mouth.
There’s currently no vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease (COVID-19). But there are ways to prevent the virus from infection, according to the World Health Organisation that suggests:
“Wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds, with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub; Cover your nose and mouth with a disposable tissue or flexed elbow when you cough or sneeze; Avoid close contact (1 meter or 3 feet) with people who are unwell; and Stay home and self-isolate from others in the household if you feel unwell”.
WHO also suggests not to touch eyes, nose, or mouth if hands are not clean.
The government says 17 hospitals and institutes are currently providing free coronavirus testing services.
Process is on to launch 11 more centers with PCR test facility soon, according to the Directorate General of Health Services.
The 17 facilities are: Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR); National Polio, Measles and Rubella Laboratory in Institute of Public Health (NPML-IPH); Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU); Child Health Research Foundation (Dhaka Shishu Hospital); Dhaka Medical College Hospital; Bangladesh Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases (BITID), Chattogram; The Institute for Developing Science and Health Initiatives (ideSHi); Khulna Medical College Hospital; Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital; Mymensingh Medical College Hospital; Rajshahi Medical College Hospital; Sher-e-Bangla Medical College, Barishal; Cox’s Bazar Medical College Hospital; National Institute of Laboratory Medicine and Referral Center; Armed Forces Institute of Pathology; and International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research (ICDDR,B).
The upcoming facilities include: Kurmitola General Hospital, Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital, Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, Mugda Medical College Hospital, Sheikh Russel Gastro Liver Institute & Hospital, Chittagong Medical College Hospital, Cumilla Medical College Hospital, Faridpur Medical College Hospital, Kushtia Medical College Hospital, M Abdur Rahim Medical College Hospital and Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College.
Besides, the govenrment is arranging laboratories at different universities and ministries of livestock and agriculture for the expansion of PCR testing. The additional director general said they had sent 4,499 people to home quarantine in the past 24 hours.
“Thirty-seven people were taken to isolation while nine released from isolation during the period. 4,499 were sent to home quarantine also in the last 24 hours,” she said. The government sent 715 people to institutional quarantine in the last 24 hours, she said.
The global coronavirus cases passed 2 million-mark
