News Desk :
The pressure on the hospitals treating coronavirus patients in Dhaka has slightly eased as the lockdown measures appear to have tamed the second wave of infections to some extent.
The number of patients occupying general beds in the hospitals dropped below 2,500 after rising to as high as 3,795 on Apr 15.
The Intensive Care Units, or ICUs, however, was still under pressure with 433 patients. The number was 250 a month ago,
but rose to 620 in the beginning of the third week in April.
Data from the Directorate General of Health Services or DGHS showed the number of patents at the hospitals on Apr 28 was higher than that on Mar 28, but raising the number of beds helped eased the pressure.
The government stopped COVID-19 treatment in some hospitals after the number of hospitalised patients dropped in September last year.
After the second wave began in mid-March this year with record surges in coronavirus cases and deaths, the government reopened the COVID units and raised the number of general and ICU beds.
In early April, the situation worsened to such a level that families had to rush coronavirus patients from one hospital to another after failing to secure a bed.
Even deaths were reported due to ICU beds not being available in critical moments.
As much as 88 percent of the general beds were occupied while 93 percent of the ICU beds were filled up on Apr 7.
After one week, when Bangladesh entered into a stricter lockdown on Apr 14, 88 percent of the general beds and 98 percent of the general beds were occupied.
‘Surma’ breaks into tears after the death of her brother Babul from COVID-19 at Dhaka Medical College Hospital on Tuesday, Apr 27, 2021. Photo: Mahmud Zaman Ovi
Another week later on Apr 21, the rate of COVID patients at general beds was 64 percent and at ICU beds 83 percent.
On Apr 28, Wednesday, 44 percent of the general beds and 57 percent of the ICUs were occupied.
Dr Mushtuq Husain, who advises the government’s disease control agency IEDCR, sees no reason people should let their guard down just yet.
Rather, he said, authorities must focus on ways to bring the number of infections to zero.
