The coronavirus situation in Bangladesh can get worse if proper measures are not taken to limit the spread of the virus, warned a leading public health promoter on Wednesday.
He said the authorities are downplaying the impact of the coronavirus outbreak in Bangladesh though it has already taken heavy toll on human beings and economy across the globe.
“We are heading towards a grave situation. The government must act quickly to contain the virus,” Dr Muzaherul
Huq, former adviser of the WHO’s Southeast Asia region, told The New Nation.
To effectively fight against the coronavirus, he suggested the government for increasing testing facilities, building designated quarantine centers and makeshift hospitals to treat the suspected patients.
“Only the returnees and those who had come in contact with them had been tested so far. But now we also need to test those who live here and show symptoms such as fever, cough and sneezing to effectively fight against the virus,” said Dr Muzaherul Huq, adding, “Otherwise, we may remain in dark how many infected patients are in the country.”
Muzaherul added that the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and the public medical universities should be permitted as soon as possible to do coronavirus tests.
“Currently, Only the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) perform coronavirus tests in its lab. The IEDCR should provide training and adequate lab facilities for those institutions,” he said.
When asked, he said, “Coronavirus cases in Bangladesh appear to be low now, but that could be because of poor testing rates in the country.”
Moreover, he said, ” Bangladesh can witness a sharp escalation of coronavirus cases as the government is struggling to enforce stringent self-isolation of expatriates who arrived the country in the past two months.
There had already been local transmission of coronavirus in the country, with five of the 14 patients being infected this way,” he added
Referring to China’s experience in containing the spread, Dr Muzaherul Huq said “Lesions to be learnt from Chinese know-how, which enforce complete isolation of Wuhan city and prepared designated make shift hospitals to treat the suspected patients.”
He said Bangladesh should also follow the Chinese strategy to manage the COVID-19 crisis. Designated field hospitals should be prepared immediately utilizing the Bangladesh Army as the number of infected cases may be grown fast in Bangladesh also. “Army Stadium and Ijtema ground can be turned into field hospitals with full facilities including ICU,” he said, adding, “A designated hospital is a must for elderly patients as the morbidity rates is high among this group.”
He also stressed the need for importing necessary kits and personal protection gear and medical equipment for medics to deal with any health emergency.
Bangladesh has already closed its door for international travellers in an effort to contain the virus from spreading here. To contain the outbreak, educational institutions have also been closed. “But what the need of time is coordinated and targeted measures to prevent the looming coronavirus threat,” said Dr Muzaherul Huq.
