COVID-19: Patients steadily increase in hospitals
With an increase in testing, the number of identified COVID-19 patients is on a steady increase. But no one can estimate where the contagion, the number of identified patients and deaths will end. Every day increasing numbers of patients are being admitted to the hospitals.
The government’s Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) on Friday said that 94 new persons have tested positive for COVID-19 and six had died. The day before, 112 had tested positive and one had died. This had brought the total number of identified patients up to 424 and deaths at 27.
The country had entered the fourth stage of the coronavirus infection and it is spreading rapidly from person to person. In the capital city, the infection has spread to 60 areas and 233 persons have tested positive. The virus has spread to 22 districts outside of Dhaka, with 191 coronavirus patients being identified so far.
No one can estimate when this pandemic will end. Amid this uncertainty, the government declared a general holiday and has extended it further, has locked down certain areas and taken a number of other measures. Experts, however, said that all these measures must be enforced even more strictly.
The laboratories have the capacity to run 4000 tests a day. Yesterday 1,184 tests were conducted and 94 persons tested positive. On the previous day, 905 tests were run and 112 tested positive. If these labs carried out tests to the full capacity, the number of identified patients would more than double.
Former director general of the health directorate FMA Fayez, speaking to Prothom Alo, said that the priority now must be given to quarantine, social distancing and conduct testing of those who have come into contact with coronavirus infected patients. Those identified through contact testing should be kept in quarantine or isolation. If these measures are stringently enforced, the infection rate can be kept lower. There will be less pressure on the hospitals.
Not enough hospital beds
COVID-19 patients in the capital city are being treated at the Kuwait-Bangladesh Friendship Government Hospital and the Kurmitola General Hospital. There are 700 beds in total in these two hospitals.
Treatment had initially been carried out at the Kuwait-Bangladesh Friendship Government Hospital. The hospital has 200 beds, including 26 ICU beds. With the increase of patients, the Kurmitola General Hospital is also being used. It has 500 beds including 22 for the ICU. There were about 50 COVID-19 patients in one ward of this hospital, according to sources.
There are about 5 or 6 coronavirus patients at the Dhaka Mahanagar Hospital too.
According to the health directorate, till Friday 364 persons were being treated for the virus, though some of them were at home.
The government selected nine hospitals, including Kuwait-Bangladesh Friendship Government Hospital, Kurmitola General Hospital, Dhaka Mahanagar Hospital and others, for treatment of COVID-19 patients in Dhaka city. These hospitals have 1,330 beds in all. Isolation units have also been opened in government hospitals inside and outside of Dhaka. These are basically to test patients. No hospital outside of Dhaka has been selected till now for treatment of coronavirus patients in the country.
Last week the government increased the scope of testing. There are now 17 laboratories in and outside of Dhaka where COVID-19 detection tests are carried out. With the increased number of tests being carried out, there has been an increased number of identified patients and an increased number of hospital admissions.
The laboratories have the capacity to run 4000 tests a day. Yesterday 1,184 tests were conducted and 94 persons tested positive. On the previous day, 905 tests were run and 112 tested positive. If these labs carried out tests to the full capacity, the number of identified patients would more than double.
There is concern among various quarters as to where the patients will be kept if the numbers increase exponentially.
Director (Hospital and Clinic) of the health directorate, Aminul Hasan, told Prothom Alo that the Sheikh Russel Gastro Liver Institute and Hospital was not completely prepared. But the other five hospitals selected by the government were not ready as yet.
On Thursday, 112 new positive cases were identified, but 21 of them were not informed of the results as the concerned IECDR personnel found their mobile phones switched off. No one could locate them
In the meantime, quite a few physicians, nurses and medical technicians have been infected by COVID-19. At least four persons of an important unit of the health directorate have been affected.
Secretary general of the Bangladesh Medicine Society, Ahmedul Kabir, told Prothom Alo that the health ministry will not be able to tackle the situation alone. The number of patients must be reduced. For this, the government must be stricter in enforcing quarantine and social distancing. The other ministries must get involved.
Stay at home
It is becoming difficult to get people to remain indoors. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has called upon all to remain at home so that the virus does not spread from one person to the other. Public health experts and scientists also advise that people must stay at home.
Former vice chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Nazrul Islam, told Prothom Alo that people’s going out had to be strictly controlled. Police patrol had to be stepped up in all localities.
A senior official of the government said they were following the government’s directives. They were not applying force against the people.
Professor Ahmedul Kabir said that curfew should be enforced if necessary, to avoid the situation spiraling out of control.
Public health expert Mushtaq Hossain, however, said that curfew would increase the common people’s sufferings. He said no one knew how long this situation would last and curfew could not be imposed indefinitely. The government would have to use social organisations and political power to deal with the situation. If force is used, people will just conceal their illness.
Concealing the contagion
With the government suddenly locking down areas and making public announcements over loudspeaker, many people are hiding their symptoms of the contagion in alarm.
On Thursday, 112 new positive cases were identified, but 21 of them were not informed of the results as the concerned IECDR personnel found their mobile phones switched off. No one could locate them.
A senior government official has said that it is alarming that many are roaming around with this virus, but are not coming to be tested for fear of being socially ostracised.
Public health experts and virologists in the country have said that no country in the world had the experience of dealing with this pandemic. On one hand, many wealthy countries were displaying abject failure in dealing with the pandemic, while some developing countries were coping well. They said that Bangladesh too had the opportunity to keep things under control if it would have taken the correct measures at the correct time.
* This report appeared in the print edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Ayesha Kabir