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Lockdown not a solution to Covid


Published : 02 Aug 2021 09:42 PM | Updated : 02 Aug 2021 11:57 PM

As daily new Covid-19 cases continue to rise in Bangladesh during the lockdown, it seems that such nationwide closure of everything including economic activities is not a solution to deal with the rising infections.

Rather, analysts say nonstop lockdowns will destroy livelihoods and squeeze the economy. They say the government must speed up the vaccination campaign as planned and ensure Covid-19 precautions such as wearing masks while going out.

The government is enforcing a lockdown till August 5. There are plans to extend the lockdown further. But the daily positivity rate among the tested samples remained around 30 percent. Garment factories were reopened in a short notice on August 1, drawing flak. People have been seen scrambling at different points to come to Dhaka to join their work. Shop owners also demanded normal operations of their outlets as there are two schools of thought regarding the containment of the virus - one group that thinks a lockdown may be useful because it can protect lives, and another that thinks that a lockdown would destroy livelihoods and thus lives.

This was also a debated issue in India.

How to balance economic activities and the public health crisis will be the key, Prof. K. Srinath Reddy, President of the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), explained to IndiaSpend portal.

“So for example, how can we best manage closed work-spaces? As much as possible, people should work from home but where unavoidable, offices should stagger work-days and work timings,” he said.

“Public transport should also be staggered, in the sense of limiting the number of people who can crowd on a bus or train, while increasing the number of public transport options available. Ventilation is key, and people should not drop their masks.”

Religious gatherings, political events and other similar mass gatherings should also be regulated, he suggested.

Coronavirus pandemic is a global problem. Bangladesh is also affected due to it. But the country is in a better position than many other countries considering vaccine progress. The government is going to vaccinate 10 million people in a week starting from August 7. The vaccination drive started in February.

Europe, US and other developed countries have reopened almost everything following health guidelines.

Analysts say we should do the same to save the economy. Hotel, motel, restaurants, factories and other offices should be opened following health guidelines to save the economy of the country. The tourist sector is already hit hard due to coronavirus.

So, raising awareness is a must to fight against the virus. Spreading fear, falsehood and propaganda must be stopped. Wearing masks, ensuring social distancing, and washing hands with soap and water must be ensured.

Eating healthy foods, leading a healthy lifestyle can help boost the immune system.

A lockdown was necessary to help Bangladesh develop its healthcare infrastructure to deal with the COVID-19 crisis.

Now that is already in place along with treatment protocols, so there is no need for another lockdown.

According to the health ministry, 246 people died of Covid-19 in 24 hours until Monday 8am as the deaths continue to rise.

The single-day death figure has been 200 plus for the last nine days.

The number of daily cases also increased alarmingly during the lockdown as 15,989 people tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours till 8am on Monday.

The positivity rate was 29.91 percent from the 53,462 samples tested in 697 labs across the country.

So far, over 21,000 people have died of Covid-19 in Bangladesh and 12,80,317 people were confirmed to have the virus since March 8, 2020 when the first three cases were identified.