Reza Mahmud :
Covid-19 patients become doubled in Dhaka’s hospitals within a month which is creating extra pressures on the authorities responsible for bed allotments.
Besides, patients and their relatives are in acute anxiety due to shortages of ICU beds in hospitals.
“We are under pressure on distributing beds as covid patients are increasing seriously. Some beds of our hospitals’ general section are vacant but 16 of our ICU beds are totally booked. In these situation we are all the time in anxiety over the deteriorating condition of other patients who are under treatment in general beds in this hospital,” said Dr Shihab Uddin, Superintendent of Bangladesh Kuwait Moitree Hospital it to The New Nation on Sunday.
“If anyone of the general bed patients’ condition becomes worsen, how could we manage a bed in ICU? There is no answer of this question. We must fail to answer the relatives of such patients, we are helpless,” the Superintendent said.
Similar worse conditions are prevailing in all of 10 government and nine non-government covid dedicated hospitals in Dhaka.
Data from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) showed that 952 patients were admitted in general beds on February 19 this year while the number increased twice on March 19 reaching by 1910. The number reached 2082 yesterday.
Besides, the data showed, 93 patients were admitted in ICU beds in Dhaka’s hospitals on February 19, this year, while the number were more than double on March 19 reaching 205, and reached 210 yesterday.
When contacted, Eminent Virologist Professor Dr. Nazrul Islam, former Vice-Chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) told The New Nation on Sunday, “As per data sharing with doctors and hospital workers I have an assumption that the patients are increasing more than double in hospitals across the country. The hospital authorities are under enormous pressure to allot beds among the treatment seeking patients.”
He said the virus infections were lowering by 2 percent for days until the March.
But it has been hiked by 10 percent in recent days.
The virologist said three reasons behind the increasing Covid cases.
“Number one reason is the virus dominating among the people like flues in winter seasons disappeared. So the infection of the covid virus is hiking. Number two the people of the country are reckless as the vaccination started and the positivity rates were lowered. They are showing reluctant to using face masks and following other health safety measures. They used to go in mass gathering in tourist spots, market places and public transports ignoring safety rules. Such a reckless activities are responsible for the sudden increasing of the deadly disease,” the Virologist said.
As third reason, the Professor said, British variant of the Covid-19 virus are playing a role of transmission among our people.
But it is yet to be proved how many people are infected with the variant, he added.
