News Desk :
Visiting Chinese medical experts have recommended increasing testing facilities in upazila-level here within the shortest possible time.
The Chinese medical experts team will submit a comprehensive report on their observations to the Health Minister before leaving Bangladesh. In reply to a question related to rapid testing, a Chinese expert said that rapid test cannot replace RT-PCR tests, but it could help diagnosis.
On the seventh day of Bangladesh visit, the team of Chinese medical experts held experience sharing sessions with top health professionals in division, district, and upazila levels through video conferencing from Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Dhaka, according to Chinese Embassy in Dhaka.
They joined in dialogue with the Director of Alternative Medical Care as well the experts from National Nutrition Services (NNS), Non Communicable Disease Control (NCDC) and Core Lab Groups in the same venue, and visited the Institute of Public Health (IPH). The experts were accompanied by the Chinese Embassy officials.
Dr Sharmila Ferdaouse welcomed the team at the DGHS Conference Hall in the morning and moderated the session. Dr Afsana Alamgir, DPM, CDC, DGHS gave a presentation on the overall healthcare system of Bangladesh. Joining via video conferencing, the Divisional Directors, Civil Surgeons, and Upazila Health & Family Planning Officers (UHFPOs) extended their greetings to the Chinese experts and briefed about the public health management and current COVID-19 situations in their concerned areas.
While speaking with the health managers countrywide, Dr Li Wenxiu, Head of the Chinese team, talked briefly about the institutions he has visited so far during this visit. “Our Bangladeshi friends are really working very hard and doing good jobs despite the density of population and limited resources,” he said.
Li then shared the Chinese experience of making concerted efforts combining the health professionals, public security and other agencies of the government in provincial and central levels, and forming specific groups for designated responsibilities to fight against COVID-19 uniting the entire nation as one.
He discussed elaborately on the Chinese health safety management in community level for effective prevention and containment which Bangladeshi side can take guidelines from, mentioning factors like, mobilization of health professionals and leaders of the communities where the information on the infected persons is shared with all so that everyone can remain aware and contacts be traced easily and successfully, technological interventions such as QR Code, taking even the patients with mild cases to the makeshift hospitals and concentrating on the mild and severe cases separately.
Li also enlightened the health officials virtually connected from all over Bangladesh about Chinese ways of ensuring health safety of doctors, nurses, and lab professionals. He also recommended increasing testing facilities in upazila level here within the shortest possible time. In a question-answer session with the Chinese experts, Civil Surgeon of Dhaka sought safety tips for the medical professionals working in office but not going to the patients.
As one of the Chinese doctors replied, hygiene must be maintained in complete manner by disinfecting the workplace repeatedly and very often, face mask must not be taken off even for the briefest moment, dining together in office must not be allowed, and hand hygiene has to be ensured with the uppermost priority.
While being asked about the maintenance of lockdown in low economic zone, a Chinese expert said that it happened stopping unnecessary flow of the people through zero movement in the neighborhood, allowing just one family member to super shops for daily essentials, ensuring that law enforcers must trace everyone and know every health information of the people they monitor, having community officials report to higher authority on every day.
