As coronavirus-hit Bangladesh continues to witness confirmed Covid-19 positive cases, callousness of many people is being gravely manifested in terms of not maintaining proper social distancing and lack of strict following of health guidelines everywhere across the country.
Public health experts, who keep watch on the current situation of the coronavirus pandemic across the country, have vented their concerns as public places like bus and launch terminals, railway stations, shopping malls, kitchen markets, huts, bazars and footpaths of all metropolitan cities, district towns, upazila headquarters and even villages are becoming almost normal. With huge crowds of people moving around, a spectra of future trouble concerning public health is being apprehended.
They also asked the authorities concerned in respective areas to control rampant movement of people and ensure following of health guidelines provided by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) to contain the spread of novel corona virus.
Public health professor at a private university Dr. Ahmed Hussain told the Bangladesh Post that, he believes Bangladesh is yet to come out of the corona risk.
“Although the daily mortality rate remains at somewhat tolerable limit, the total number of deaths in Corona is gradually increasing. Movement of people without safety precautions may worsen the condition further, with people at bus, train, and launch services showing no interests to follow health guidelines,” he added.
Excuses will not keep anyone safe from infection. Our awareness and safety gears are vital in this case; especially for older persons and children, he added.
From March to June, the government took various drastic measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Later, all the restrictions are being lifted one by one considering the matter of life and livelihood of the people of the country.
Except re-opening educational institutions, the life of the people of the country seems to be becoming normal.
At the time of lifting the ban, the government gave several instructions including maintaining social distance, wearing masks and not going out of the house unnecessarily.
The government has made it clear that relaxation does not mean disobeying hygiene. But in reality, due to non-observance of those instructions, the country seems to be in a normal situation.
“It has become easier to calculate the number of people who follow the rules of hygiene than the number of people who do not follow the rules of hygiene. Even, the situation before the corona epidemic has returned to Bangladesh,” said medicine specialist Dr. MA Aziz.
He also mentioned that, until arrival of an effective vaccine people have to follow health guidelines.
Dr. Uttam Kumar Barua, Director, Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital (SSMC) told the Bangladesh Post, that “Every person in the country should act responsibly in preventing corona.”
He continued “It is not possible for the government alone to bring success in dealing with Corona situation. It is hard to monitor every moment of a person's life through rules and regulations. We have to understand the value of our own lives”, he added.
On Saturday, the country registered 35 new deaths from the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours. Current death toll due to the virus now stands at 4,447, said a press release issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
It also further reads that, in the last 24 hours, 1,950 people tested positive for COVID-19 and the number of novel coronavirus cases in the country now stands at 3,23,565.
