9 percent of the people in the capital Dhaka are affected by the global pandemic coronavirus. 78 percent of them are asymptomatic. The data came from a survey conducted by the government's Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) and the International Centre for Diarrheal Research, Bangladesh (ICDDRB), two city corporations.
At least one and a half crore people live in Dhaka. Public health experts have emphasized the importance of maintaining a social distance and trying to strengthen various safety measures by identifying the fact that a large number of people are asymptomatic.
The two organizations conducted the survey from April 18 to July 7 this year. It is supported by USAID and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
However, IEDCR director Mirzadi Sebrina is reluctant to say that 9 per cent of the people in the two cities are affected. She said the survey was conducted on more than 12,000 people. It is not possible to say how many of these 9 percent are asymptomatic. She said it was not possible to say that the survey was in its infancy.
If one of the four symptoms of Covid-19 is identified in a family member on the day of the survey or in the previous seven days, that family is identified as 'symptomatic'.
If no symptoms of Covid-19 are found in any member of the family within the day of the survey or within the previous seven days, the family has been identified as symptom-free or symptom-free. Family members, both with and without symptoms, were examined.
The survey was conducted on 3,277 families in Dhaka. Of these, 211 people were found with symptoms. Out of these families with symptoms, 435 asymptomatic individuals were identified. Of these, 201 people were tested. Of the asymptomatic families, 827 asymptomatic individuals were identified.538 of them were tested. The survey also included six slums in Dhaka. The number of families here was 720.
Mirzadi Sebrina said, ‘We are scared to see patients but not scared to see asymptomatic people. This is where the issue of complying with social distance and others, including wearing masks, comes up.
Among the people who took part in the survey, the most corona positive people were identified among those above 40 years of age.
BS/