Bangladesh on Wednesday witnessed a rise of new cases of coronavirus with the detection of 219 patients by testing 1740 samples.
It means the new case rate was 12.59 percent of the samples tested in a day which is the highest so far. Earlier the highest rate of detection in a single-day was 11.59 percent on Monday.
Health Minister Zahid Maleque giving the updates said four more patients including a doctor died during the last 24 hours. Seven patients recovered.
With that, the number of coronavirus patients stood at 1231 in Bangladesh and death toll hit 50. Only 49 patients made recoveries so far since the first case was reported on March 8.
Coronavirus disease causes respiratory illness (like the flu) with symptoms such as a cough, fever, and in more severe cases, difficulty breathing.
It spreads primarily through contact with an infected person when they cough or sneeze.
It also spreads when a person touches a surface or object that has the virus on it, then touches their eyes, nose, or mouth.
There’s currently no vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease (COVID-19). But there are ways to prevent the virus from infection, according to the World Health Organisation.
“Wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds, with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub; cover your nose and mouth with a disposable tissue or flexed elbow when you cough or sneeze; avoid close contact (1 meter or 3 feet) with people who are unwell; stay home and self-isolate from others in the household if you feel unwell” are the preventive measures.
People have been asked not to touch eyes, nose, or mouth if hands are not clean.
The government says 17 hospitals and institutes are currently providing free coronavirus testing services.
Process is on to launch 11 more centers with PCR test facility soon, according to the Directorate General of Health Services.
The 17 facilities are: Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR); National Polio, Measles and Rubella Laboratory in Institute of Public Health (NPML-IPH); Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU); Child Health Research Foundation (Dhaka Shishu Hospital); Dhaka Medical College Hospital; Bangladesh Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases (BITID), Chattogram; The Institute for Developing Science and Health Initiatives (ideSHi); Khulna Medical College Hospital; Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital; Mymensingh Medical College Hospital; Rajshahi Medical College Hospital; Sher-e-Bangla Medical College, Barishal; Cox’s Bazar Medical College Hospital; National Institute of Laboratory Medicine and Referral Center; Armed Forces Institute of Pathology; and International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research (ICDDR,B).
The upcoming facilities include: Kurmitola General Hospital, Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital, Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, Mugda Medical College Hospital, Sheikh Russel Gastro Liver Institute & Hospital, Chittagong Medical College Hospital, Cumilla Medical College Hospital, Faridpur Medical College Hospital, Kushtia Medical College Hospital, M Abdur Rahim Medical College Hospital and Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College.
Besides, the government is arranging laboratories at different universities and ministries of livestock and agriculture for the expansion of PCR testing.
The health minister urged everyone to step forward and test for the virus. He asked the people to stay at their homes.
He expressed grief and offered sympathies to the family of Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital’s Dr Md Moyeen Uddin, the first physician of Bangladesh to die from coronavirus.
“Today we’ve lost a comrade,” he said, adding that the government has assured that ‘his family will be taken care of’.
Director General for health services Prof Abul Kalam Azad said the safety of every health worker, even at the union level, will be ensured.
Additional Director General for Health Nasima Sultana said of the deceased, two were over 70. The doctor who died was aged 50 and another patient was between 35 and 40 years who was suffering from cancer.
The virus has spread most of the districts of Bangladesh, mostly from those who returned from Dhaka and Narayanaganj, the epicenter, according to Prof Azad.