No alternative to building field hospitals to save lives: GM Quader

As Covid-19 cases continue to surge in Bangladesh, Jatiya Party chairman GM Quader on Friday said there is no alternative to setting up field hospitals to save the lives of the virus-infected people.

In a statement, he said it has become urgent to construct field hospitals for Covid treatment in the areas where the virus transmission is very high. “Since the outbreak of corona is not waning, there’s no alternative to building the field hospitals at this moment to save the lives of the country’s people.”

If necessary, the Jatiya Party chief said, members of Bangladesh Army can be given the responsibility to build field hospitals.

He said the Delta variant has spread to remote areas. “Gradually, the entire country has become a hotspot for corona. Already, about 90 per cent of beds in Covid dedicated hospitals are now packed and ICU beds are occupied in most hospitals.”

Referring to health minister Zahid Maleque’s comment that the government is thinking of renting hotels for providing treatment to Covid patients with mild complications, GM Quader said setting up field hospitals is relatively more convenient and less risky for the treatment of the highly contagious coronavirus.

“China, Thailand and Indonesia have already had successes in corona treatment by building field hospitals to deal with corona,” he observed.

The Jatiya Party chairman said the members of Bangladesh Army’s engineering corps build field hospitals hurriedly during various military exercises every year. “They’ve a great experience in building field hospitals. The country will benefit only if the Bangladesh Army is given the responsibility to build field hospitals.”

For the past few weeks, Bangladesh has been experiencing the worst coronavirus wave spurred by the highly transmittable Delta variant which was first identified in India.

According to a survey by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), 98 per cent of the Covid patients recently detected in Bangladesh are of the highly contagious Delta variant.