The first coronavirus death has been reported in the press. Several confirmed infection cases have also been reported in a growing revelation of rapid spread of the contagion in the country.
Initially these were mainly imported cases in the country carried by expatriate Bangladeshis who returned home from Italy and the Gulf countries. But in a twist of events the pandemic is increasingly becoming local mainly spread by expatriates among locals and to their family members.
As it spreads on physical touch and closer contact, the number of local infection cases is only growing unknowingly in the absence of testing facility on a mass scale.
Experts say time is running out to prepare ourselves for containing rapid spread of the virus. The leadership was not keen to put together a competent health officials’ group to support the government. Sycophants are no good to prove efficiency of the government.
When country is in deadly emergency over worldwide threat of the unprecedented pandemic virus it is not at all easy to get an organised workforce to be ready for the battle.
Condemning the government’s unpreparedness will not help. The liars around the government keep on lying.
If it can’t be tackled and the spread can’t be stopped, it may spread like an unbeatable plague at a time when the country has not enough resources or medical infrastructure to subdue it. What is noticeable is that China, the epicenter of the contagion, has reported that in Wuhan-where coronavirus was first detected-the virus is now fully contained and the number is below double-digit in Hubei, another city on Wednesday where the plague has caused havoc and cases of infection ran thousands on daily basis.
So we are pleased to know that China is ready to help us in a substantial way. But this time the necessity is urgent and we expect international cooperation must be available urgently.
Many Bangladeshis are returning home and the chances are that they will be responsible unknowingly for creating pandemic situation worse. The government has no capacity to keep them in quarantine.
They are told to be in self-imposed quarantine at their homes. In our situation this means helping spread of the disease in remote villages.
Reports said at many places neighbours are forcing self-isolation of all the family members for one returnee that is creating new problems. Besides, in villages nothing is available to treat those will be found positive.
It is most likely that they will go undetected and untreated. Only treatment that can be expected is to make breathing machines accessible to the patients. These are not to be found near about.
Even for detection of the disease till today the information must be sent to Dhaka for analysis.
It is no politics but the harsh reality admitted by independent health experts is that we are helpless and in badly in need for creating self-awareness to know how best to protect oneself from the virus that has no cure but infect others too easily and too fast.
