Reza Mahmud :
Covid-19 infection rate is on rise across the country which has appalled the people, since they witnessed untold sufferings of patients’ during the beginning of the second wave attack in April.
Public Health Experts have identified three reasons behind the increasing trend of the covid infections across the country.
“The Indian variant of the Covid-19 is deteriorating the situation, while the pause of vaccination and people’s reluctant of maintaining health safety measures including wearing face masks are major reasons of increasing covid cases in the country,” Professor Dr. Be-Nazir Ahmed, former Director of disease control of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare told The New Nation on Saturday.
He said, the government failed to prevent spreading of the Indian variant of the Covid-19 taking proper measures.
“If the government had prevented the spreading of the dangerous Indian variant at its beginning, when the whole region started outcry about it, the situation might not be so dismal. The government had to announce strict lockdown in Bordering districts like Chapainawabgonj so that the transmission could not reach Rajshahi and finally Dhaka,” the Professor said.
He said that the people from bordering districts carried the variant to Dhaka where from it has spread across the country.
When contacted, Public Health Expert Dr. Lenin Chowdhury told The New Nation, “People are now ignoring health safety rules widely. They are showing reluctance to wear of face masks and maintaining social distances. Besides, the government failed to continue the vaccination campaign. In these circumstances, the infections are increasing.”
He suggested the government to start vaccination as quick as possible bringing vaccines from new sources soon.
Data from the Directorate General of the Health Services showed that the infection rate reached 11.03 percent on Saturday which was 10. 40 pc on Friday and 9.94 percent on Thursday.
The data also revealed that the infection rate was 9.41 pc on May 31 which increased day after day constantly.
When contacted, Professor Dr. M. Muzaherul Huq, former Advisor of the World Health Organisation told The New Nation on Saturday, “The people are not maintaining the health instructions and precautions as it should be. Government is also failing to strictly imposing the instructions as well as monitoring its implementation.”
He said that proper contact tracings are not being done with quarantines of suspects as well as isolations. People are reluctant to test though rapid antigen tests are available in upazilla health complexes. All these are having a cumulative effect in spreading Covid in the border districts, he added.
The health expert suggested that the Civil Surgeons of districts should be made responsible and accountable to manage Covid in districts by strengthening the clinical management and diagnostic facilities in district hospitals and upazilla health centres.
The management should be monitored and supported by DG Health. The logistic supports must be ensured for all civil surgeons for effective management of district and upazilla health complexes during the present Covid situation and post Covid situation.
The country reported a total of 1,447 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of infections to 809,314.
Besides, it has registered 43 deaths from Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, highest since May 10. It was May 9 last when the country had recorded more Covid-19 casualties of 56 deaths.
