Reza Mahmud :
Daily caseload of Covid-19 crossed 1,000 for the first time in the two months.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Bangladesh has registered 1,018 new Covid-19 cases, the highest daily caseload in two months.
The daily test positivity rate also rose to 5.98 percent on Wednesday.
The DGHS data showed that the tally of those testing positive for the deadly virus now stands at 553,105.
The death toll climbed to 8,496 after seven fatalities were recorded in a 24-hour time frame till Wednesday morning, the DGHS said.
Earlier on January 10, the DGHS recorded a higher single-day caseload of 1,071.
Since then, the number of daily cases remained below the 900 mark until Tuesday.
The infection rate also was in declining. The transmission rate remained below 4 percent for days.
The data showed the month of March having an upward trend of rising cases day by day.
It showed that 585 new Covid-19 cases were detected on March 1, after almost a month of a lower rate of infections and on Tuesday 912 cases were recorded.
To date, 4,197,970 tests had been conducted in the country, leading to an overall test positivity rate of 13.18 percent. Meanwhile, the mortality rate against the total number of cases currently stands with 1.54 percent.
Human health experts blamed widespread breaching of health safety rules outlined by World Health Organisation (WHO) globally as well the DGHS in the country.
“The loosening of following health safety measures is the main reasons of increasing the caseloads in recent days,” Dr. Mukhlesuzzaman Hero, former Deputy Director of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University told The New Nation.
He said, “People started loosening of wearing face mask, maintaining social distancing and washing hands with soap for minimum 20 seconds while they found that the probable second wave was not attacked.”
The public transports are transgressing the safety rules acutely, he added.
People also are violating the safety rules in markets and everywhere, he said.
The expert said that government’s drive of preventing the probable second wave on the eve of the winter season successfully prevented the virus spreading, but later all of us loosening the strictness.
When contacted, Professor Dr. M.Muzaherul Huq told The New Nation, “Covid-19 infection and spread can only be brought under control by an organised plan and system of vaccination all over Bangladesh simultaneously.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Health Minister Zahid Maleque, said that Covid-19 infections in the country are on the rise because people are travelling to different tourist spots like Cox’s Bazar, breaching health safety regulations.
“The way people are going to Cox’s Bazar, Sylhet and the way social events are going on without people wearing masks or maintaining social distancing, the infection rate was bound to rise. Recently the number of patients in the hospital has increased too.”
He said, “People should not think that they are immune to coronavirus after taking only the first dose of the vaccine.
They should mind that the vaccine is just for protection. It will take time to make safe from the virus after taking the second dose of the vaccine.”
