Bangladesh's 65pc COVID-19 patients taking treatment at home

Around 65 per cent of COVID-19 patients in Bangladesh have been taking treatment at home as they feel comfortable there, the Directorate General of Health Services has said.

But, the government’s health department said the critical patients require hospital support.

Two members of a family have been taking treatment at the Kurmitola General Hospital in Dhaka. One of them told Prothom Alo that if he was given treatment at home, it would have been much more comfortable for him.

He said his four more family members have been infected with the virus and they have been taking treatment at home.

Asked who had permitted them to take treatment at home, the patient said the high-ups at the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) advised them to take treatment at their house.

The person also said his family members are comfortable there.

IEDCR director Meerjady Sabrina earlier on Wednesday told Prothom Alo that this disease has no specific treatment. That is why treatment has been given as per the symptoms of the patients. In most of the cases, the symptoms seem mild and patients with mild symptoms need not to be admitted to the hospitals.

If the patients comply with advice from the physicians, they can be treated at home, she added.

According to the strategic papers of the World health Organization, as high as 40 per cent of the patients carry mild symptoms after the infection of the novel coronavirus.

As high as 40 per cent of the patients suffer medium complexities with pneumonia symptoms while 15 per cent show high complication and rest 5 per cent face serious complication.

As per the experts, 60 per cent of the patients need not be admitted to the hospitals while a portion of them need intensive care unit support.

Since the first detection of the disease in Bangladesh on 8 March, as of 16 April, 1572 people have been infected with the virus and 60 people died. The virus transmission has entered the fourth stage in the country. People from 44 districts have already been infected. New places are being included on the list. At this point, no one knows where it would be ended.

Against the backdrop of widespread transmission of the virus, the government has prepared 9 hospitals for COVID-19 patients. The hospitals have 1,330 beds.

Apart from that, some hospitals including Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Dhaka Infectious Disease Hospital and National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases have isolation units.

Health officials said the authorities have initiated a move to expand the capacity.

According to the government tally, 1,132 patients have been taking coronavirus treatment across the country.

DGHS director (hospital and clinic) Aminul Hasan said till Wednesday afternoon, 142 were admitted to Kuwait-Bangladesh Maitree Hospital, 217 to Kurmitola General Hospital and 26 to Dhaka Mahanagar General Hospital.

A source at the DGHS said some patients have been treating at some other hospitals.

As many as 400 patients have been admitted to the hospitals while remaining 732 estimating 65 per cent of them have been undergoing treatment at home.

Need big hospitals

Whatever the situation, as said by IEDCR director Meerjady Sebrina, small hospitals might have a setback.

She told Prothom Alo that those hospitals that have experience of specialized treatment and expert manpower should be readied without killing time.

“We may consider hospitals like Dhaka Medical College Hospital and the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University.”

Following the deaths of some critical patients, some health officials observed that most of the hospitals except a few neither have experienced physicians nor nurses nor technologists to treat critical patients.

Asked about the matter, BSMMU’s former vice-chancellor Nazrul Islam said the selected hospitals except one are quite new. No one has experiences to treat critical and a large number of patients.

It must be taken into account now, he added.

COVID-19 related national coordination committee’s adviser ABM Abdullah came up with the same observation.

He said the hospitals with experience of treating critical and a large number of patients must be prepared, whether it be DMCH or the BSMMU or any big private hospital.

Management crisis

Allegations have been raised against the mismanagement of the hospital. In the early hours of Wednesday, a coronavirus patient died at a hospital in the city. As no one removed the body until 12 noon, it created panic in the hospital.

One of the patients in the same ward where the coronavirus patient died told Prothom Alo over the phone that hospital officials did not care much for such a critical patient.

Eight officials of one of the key institutions of the health department contracted the coronavirus. They were admitted to an isolation unit of a hospital in Mahakhali. It has been learnt that none from the authorities went there.

Asked about the hospitals’ mismanagement, DGHS additional secretary Khan Habibur Rahman on Wednesday told the media that all allegations may not be true. About the management system, he said there are CCTVs to oversee the procedure.

Treatment at homes

One of the BSMMU physicians has been diagnosed with the COVID-19. The BSMMU authorities said the physician has been taking treatment at home.

Four physicians of a private hospital have also been tested coronavirus positive. One of the managers of the hospital said as their symptoms are mild, they have been treating at home.

Apart from that, many coronavirus patients have been taking treatment at home.

While IEDCR Meerjady Sabrina said every patient should not be admitted to the hospitals as the disease can be cured like a seasonal flu. But, everybody should comply with the advice from physicians.

Given the existing social system, as stated by Bangladesh Medicine Society’s secretary general professor Ahmedul Kabor, treatment at home cannot be effective.

He told Prothom Alo that no one can assure whether the infected person is complying with the medical advice or maintain social distance. That is why infected persons must be taken into institutional isolation.

Once the condition of a patient deteriorates, the patient must be taken to hospitals immediately, he added.

*This piece appeared in the print edition of Prothom Alo. It has been rewritten in English by Toriqul Islam.