Bangladesh govt warns over COVID-19 surge, says 'there will be no place left in hospitals'

Raising concerns over the crucial situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bangladesh Health Minister Zahid Maleque has said that if the coronavirus cases continue to follow a similar trend, “there will be no place left in hospitals.” The Daily Star newspaper reported that the Bangladeshi Health Minister called for citizens to abide by the restrictions during the ongoing lockdown to stem the increasing COVID-19 cases. After visiting the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) Convention Centre, Maleque said, “We do not want the number of patients to increase. To reduce the number of patients, we have to reduce the infection.”

He warned, “If the infection continues to increase like this, there will be no place left in hospitals.”

"If the coronavirus situation is not brought under control, it will harm the country's economy, which we do not want. Therefore, there is no alternative to following the health safety rules," Bangladesh’s health minister said amid concerns over a surging number of deaths and infections after the Eid-ul-Azha holidays.

COVID-19 in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is presently facing a renewed wave of COVID-19 cases and deaths. On Sunday, the country registered 228 fresh casualties and 11,291 cases of coronavirus infections. Due to the Eid-ul-Azha festival last week, the Bangladeshi government had lifted the stringent COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. However, on Friday, the government decided to reimpose a “stricter” two-week nationwide shutdown to contain the sudden drastic spread of the novel coronavirus. 

Meanwhile, the hospital that Maleque visited, BSMMU field hospital reportedly has 1,000 beds including 200 intensive care units and high dependency units. As per the Bangladeshi daily, it would start operation from next Saturday. On July 24, India also delivered a consignment of 200 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen on an Oxygen Express train to Bangladesh.

Furthermore, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said on Sunday that after Sunday’s toll, the total number of people who died of COVID-19 in the country has spiked to 19,274. The infection rate of the country is 30.04% and the national coronavirus tally is at 11,64,635 as the government continues to urge citizens to stay indoors.

IMAGE: AP/Pixabay

(With PTI Inputs)