Staff Reporter :
Health Minister Zahid Maleque blamed widespread negligence for the upsurge of coronavirus infections in the country.
He said: “Infections came down, so the people thought there was no Covid-19 in the country. After getting vaccinated, people completely forgot about hygiene. All in all, people were not cautious. That was our mistake.”
The number of Covid-19 infections is increasing at an alarming rate in the country. Death is also increasing.
The health minister said: “We have given different advices at different stages. The government is working according to that advice now. Earlier, partial lockdown was enforced in various tourist spots. Our advice was complete lockdown. A lockdown has been given, which, however, is an extreme measure.”
He said: “There was a flurry of social events, including weddings. There were no masks, no social distancing. Will we not get the result of what we do? That’s exactly what we’re getting. So many people are dying. If people were aware, if they followed the rules of hygiene, then so many people’s lives would not have been endangered, so many people did not have to be hospitalized. We should understand that so many people are dying because of our mistakes.”
“Now we should try to reduce the infection. Various steps have been taken for this. The people have to abide by these steps this time. If you don’t follow the rules, you can’t control it. If everything including hygiene and the 18-point-lockdown is obeyed, maybe the infection will gradually decrease. That’s the way it is. There is no other way to reduce infection,” he added.
On Saturday, Bangladesh reported 5,683 new infections after reaching a record high of 6,830 new cases the previous day.
The death toll climbed to 9,213 after 58 fatalities were reported in the 24 hours to time Saturday morning, according to official figures.
