Reza Mahmud and Noman Mosharef :
National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19 urged the government to take stern measures for preventing second wave of coronavirus attack.
The committee suggested for increasing number of covid-19 tests and submission of quick reports so that the physicians can provide necessary treatment on emergency basis.
The committee also urged the government to be serious at airports and land ports about corona negative certificates to be carried by every passenger before entry there into.
The committee took those recommendations in a virtual meeting on Friday night as part of preparation to prevent possible second wave of attack of the fatal disease in the country.
The national committee recommended also to increase number of beds in covid dedicated hospitals, ensure centrally supplied oxygen system in every hospitals and adequate number of ventilators, high flow nasal cannulas in all hospitals and clinic, including upazila and district level hospitals.
Professor Dr Muhammad Shahidullah, Chairman National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19 presided over the meeting on Friday night.
Contacted Dr. Muhammad Shahidullah told The New Nation, “It is very much important to increase number of sample tests so that the necessary steps can be taken in time to prevent the sharp spreading of the fatal disease.” He said the Xenexpert machine, which was previously used for identifying Tuberculosis (TB) patients can help us in this regards properly besides the RT- PCR machine.
The chairman of the national committee also said that expatriates returning from abroad and foreign people entering the country everyday are posing grave risks of spreading the virus seriously.
Sources said about 5000 expatriates Bangladeshis and foreign nationals are entering the country every day.
Though carrying corona negative certificate is a compulsory, but many passengers avoid it showing different causes. As a result, many of them who carried the virus are posing great threat for the others, he said.
When the government is patronising ‘No Mask, No Entry’ and ‘No Mask, No Service’ slogans, the people of the country are quiet indifference to wearing mask at home or outside. Maintaining social distance is also losing its importance everywhere at markets, shopping malls, public transports, offices and footpaths.
In this circumstance, the government is operating mobile court to compell the people to use masks.
Recently Directorate General of Health Service’s (DGHS) Public Health Institute and Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control And Research (IEDCR) have been holding a short survey from March to August in the country’s divisional cities over mask use. They found in the survey that 48 per cent people do not use mask. 92.90 percent people believe mask use lessen the transmission of deadly corona virus.
In another survey conducted by an NGO showed 67 per cent of the people are not using mask.
DGHS’s Additional DG (Planning and Development) Dr Meerjady Sabrina Flora put importance on use of mask and said, without using mask there is no possibility reduction of virus infection.
It is seen in the capital’s Shantinagar, Hatirpul and Karwan Bazar area, most of the buyers and sellers do not have masks in their faces. No shopping without maintaining social distance is a lip service only. The use of face masks has been a slogan only.
Shantinagar fish market trader Abul Basher was asked about not using mask, he replied that he uses mask while coming to market and return to home. He also said that he feels discomfort to work wearing mask.
Recently a huge number of visitors visited Cox Bazar sea beach. It was seen that all ages of visitors did not use mask when they gathered at the beach.
Same situation are in the public transports. Most of the passenger from city and long distance route transport are travelling without using masks.
In this regard, Khandaker Enayet Ullah, Secretary General of Bangladesh Paribahan Malik Samiti, said, “It is true that the use of masks has come down. However, if the BRTA, magistrates and the police had supervised the buses like a mobile court, there might have been some awareness.
