Work on mapping the highly-contaminated virus affected areas of Dhaka city has not been completed despite the announcement for area wise lockdown of red zones across the country a few weeks ago.
Experts say such a lax situation is unfortunate and risky as it will not help stop the spread of the dangerous pandemic.
The Ministry of Health said that in areas where preparations have been completed, lockdowns have started. After completing the preparations, other areas will be brought under programme in phases.
Officials have been saying for two weeks that a comprehensive map identifying the capital's red zones is in the final stages. Now it is being said that the lack of full address or information of the identified patients has become a big challenge in identifying hotspots in Dhaka.
The total number of coronavirus patients identified in the country stands at 1 lakh 26 thousand 606. About 60 percent of them are residents of Dhaka. Even then, there has been a slowdown in area-based lockdowns that would prevent the spread of the infection in Dhaka.
Professor Nazrul Islam, former vice-chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University and a member of the National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19, told Bangladesh Post, lockdown activities have started in much less risky areas than Dhaka. But Dhaka is being given less importance. It is not the right decision. Quick and effective steps should be taken in the case of Dhaka. Otherwise, the situation may deteriorate further.
“Lockdown is not just an announcement. Law enforcers patrol the main road. But they did not enter other areas. Many poor people have not eaten. We have to increase our capability. Isolation centers should be set up in or around the area where the lockdown will take place, with adequate sample testing arrangements. Otherwise, these lockdowns will not be effective. The reality is that so far we have a shortage in this field,” he continued.
“What health officials are saying now about zone mapping is completely unacceptable. From the beginning, they did not pay attention to the issue,” he added.
Expressing frustration over the awareness of the citizens, the expert said, "The government is campaigning so much, urging all to stay at home, and those who have symptoms to stay in isolation. But people are not listening."
Experts from various committees of the government had suggested to lock down about 2,000 red zones across the country, including 400 or 500 in Dhaka. The officials have so far identified only 45 areas as red zones. Officials have not been able to say exactly when the lockdown will take effect in the area marked as a red zone. The two mayors of Dhaka North and South City Corporations refused to implement lockdown in Dhaka without zone mapping.
Two weeks after the experimental lockdown in the capital's East Rajabazar, two wards in the Wari area of old Dhaka have been reported to have written to the city corporation to take action by identifying them as red zones. But at that time there was talk of a plan to lock down those two wards.
State Minister for Public Administration, Farhad Hossain said the task of identifying hotspots in Dhaka is quite difficult, and that is why it is taking some time. The capital is a very densely populated area. There are industrial factories, offices and people living in the same place. That is why we have to identify the places very carefully. Work is underway to identify red zones in some areas of Dhaka. We will implement some of them.
The state minister said ‘restrictions could not be imposed everywhere at once. The place where there is more infection will be blocked at first. We have to keep the economy going, that's our strategy. In addition, small areas will be blocked according to capacity, so that normal life is not disrupted.’
Farhad Hossain further said, "We are now putting more emphasis on making people aware. And we are cooperating extensively to make people aware. The Prime Minister has already said that we have to follow the rules of hygiene and move forward with life and livelihood. "
A public health expert said, "We have heard about piloting in Rajabazar. Now it is not the time for piloting. It’s our time for war. So, we will have to take perfect initiatives as soon as possible. But it seems the speed is very slow."
"When cholera was discovered many years ago, did all the different apps or sciences have all the benefits? So how did it work then? And now with so many digital features, why it takes so long to identify hotspots in Dhaka - it's not clear," he added.
The government is imposing area-based restrictions on the country by dividing the country into red, yellow and green zones, taking into account the number of identified patients and deaths, as the infection situation had not been brought under control in the country from March 26 to May 31. Lockdown has officially started in the 'red zone' of 27 areas of 10 highly-infected districts. 21 days of general holiday will be effective in these areas.