.jfif "Covid-19 Situation in Bangladesh")
The COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was confirmed to have spread to Bangladesh in March 2020. The first three known cases were reported on 8 March 2020 by the country's epidemiology institute, IEDCR. Since then, the pandemic has spread day by day over the whole nation and the number of affected people has been increasing. The virus was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. The World Health Organization declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern regarding COVID-19 on 30 January 2020, and later declared a pandemic on 11 March 2020. As of 28 May 2021, more than 168 million cases have been confirmed, with more than 3.51 million confirmed deaths attributed to COVID-19, making it one of the deadliest pandemics in history.
COVID-19
Name
During the initial outbreak in Wuhan, China, the virus and disease were
commonly referred to as "coronavirus" and "Wuhan
coronavirus", with the disease sometimes called "Wuhan
pneumonia".In the past, many diseases have been named after geographical
locations, such as the Spanish flu, [Middle East Respiratory Syndrome,
and Zika virus. In January 2020, the WHO recommended 2019-nCov and
2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease as interim names for the virus and disease
per 2015 guidance and international guidelines against using geographical
locations (e.g. Wuhan, China), animal species, or groups of people in disease
and virus names in part to prevent social stigma. The official names
COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 were issued by the WHO on 11 February 2020. Tedros
Adhanom explained: CO for corona, VI for a virus, D for disease, and 19
for when the outbreak was first identified (31 December 2019). The WHO
additionally uses "the COVID-19 virus" and "the virus
responsible for COVID-19" in public communications.
Symptoms of COVID-19
Symptoms of COVID-19 are highly variable, ranging
from none to life-threateningly severe. COVID-19
transmits when people breathe in air contaminated by droplets and
small airborne particles. The risk of breathing these in is highest
when people are in close proximity, but can also over longer distances,
particularly indoors. Transmission can also occur if splashed or sprayed with
contaminated fluids, and rarely via contaminated surfaces. People remain
contagious for up to 20 days and can spread the virus even if they do not
develop any symptoms.
Recommended preventive measures include social distancing,
wearing face masks in public, ventilation and
air-filtering, hand washing, covering one's mouth when sneezing or
coughing, disinfecting surfaces, and monitoring
and self-isolation for people exposed or symptomatic. Several
vaccines have been developed and widely distributed since December 2020.
Current treatments focus on addressing symptoms, but work is underway
to develop medications that inhibit the virus. Authorities
worldwide have responded by implementing travel
restrictions, lockdowns/quarantines, workplace hazard controls, and
business closures. Numerous jurisdictions have also worked to
increase testing capacity and trace contacts of the
infected.
The pandemic has resulted in significant
global social and economic disruption, including the
largest global recession since the Great Depression. It has led
to widespread supply shortages exacerbated by panic buying,
agricultural disruption, and food shortages. However, there have also
been decreased emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases.
Numerous educational institutions and public areas have been
partially or fully closed, and many events have been canceled or
postponed. Misinformation has circulated through social media and
mass media. The pandemic has raised issues of racial and geographic
discrimination, health equity, and the balance between public
health imperatives and individual rights.
Signs and symptoms
Symptoms of COVID-19 are
variable, ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Common symptoms
include headache, loss of smell and taste, nasal
congestion and runny nose, cough, muscle pain, sore
throat, fever, diarrhea, and breathing difficulties. People with
the same infection may have different symptoms, and their symptoms may change
overtime. Three common clusters of symptoms have been identified: one
respiratory symptom cluster with cough, sputum, shortness of breath, and fever;
a musculoskeletal symptom cluster with muscle and joint pain, headache, and
fatigue; a cluster of digestive symptoms with abdominal pain, vomiting, and
diarrhea. In people without prior ear, nose, and throat disorders, loss of
taste combined with the loss of smell is associated with COVID-19. Of
people who show symptoms, 81% develop only mild to moderate symptoms (up to
mild pneumonia), while 14% develop severe symptoms (dyspnea, hypoxia,
or more than 50% lung involvement on imaging) and 5% of patients suffer
critical symptoms (respiratory failure, shock, or multiorgan
dysfunction). At least a third of the people who are infected with the virus do
not develop noticeable symptoms at any point in time.
These asymptomatic carriers tend not to get tested and can spread the
disease. Other infected people will develop symptoms later, called
"pre-symptomatic", or have very mild symptoms and can also spread the
virus.
As is common with infections, there is a delay between the moment a
person first becomes infected and the appearance of the first symptoms.
The median delay for COVID-19 is four to five days. Most symptomatic
people experience symptoms within two to seven days after exposure, and almost
all will experience at least one symptom within 12 days. Most people recover
from the acute phase of the disease. However, some people continue to
experience a range of effects for months after recovery—named long
COVID—and damage to organs has been observed. Multi-year studies are underway
to further investigate the long-term effects of the disease.
Cause
COVID-19 is caused by infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome
coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus strain.
Transmission
The respiratory route of the spread of COVID-19, encompassing larger droplets and aerosols.The virus is transmitted mainly via the respiratory route, when people inhale droplets and particles that infected people release as they breathe, talk, cough, sneeze or sing. The closer people interact, and the longer they interact, the more likely they are to transmit COVID-19, but infection can occur over longer distances, particularly indoors. People are at their peak of infectiousness when their symptoms start and are infectious for up to 3 days prior to this. Their infectiousness declines after the first week, but they remain contagious for up to 20 days and can spread the virus even if they never developed any symptoms.
The size of the infectious particles is on a continuum, ranging from small
airborne particles that remain suspended in the air for long periods, to
larger droplets that may remain airborne or fall to the ground. This
continuum between droplets and aerosols has redefined the traditional
understanding of how respiratory viruses transmit. The largest droplets of
respiratory fluid do not travel far and can be inhaled, or land on mucous
membranes on the eyes, nose, or mouth to cause a new infection. The fine
aerosol particles are in the highest concentration when people are in close
proximity, leading to the virus transmitting easier when people are physically
close. However, the airborne transmission does occur at longer distances,
mainly in locations that are poorly ventilated (such as restaurants, choirs, gyms,
nightclubs, offices, and religious venues). In those conditions, small
particles can remain suspended in the air for minutes to hours. The number of
people generally infected by one infected person varies; with only 10 to 20% of
people responsible for the diseases spread. However, in September 2020 it was
estimated that one infected person will, as a crude average, infect between two
and three other people. This is more infectious than influenza but
less so than measles. It often spreads in clusters, where infections
can be traced back to an index case or geographical location. There is a major
role of "super-spreading events", where many people are infected by
one person. It is possible that a person might get
COVID-19 indirectly by touching a contaminated surface or
object before touching their own mouth, nose, or eyes, though strong
evidence suggests this does not contribute substantially to new infections.
Although it is considered possible, there is no direct evidence of the virus
being transmitted by skin-to-skin contact. The virus is not known to spread
through feces, urine, breast
milk, food, wastewater, drinking water, or via
animal disease vectors (although some animals can contract the virus
from humans). It very rarely transmits from mother to baby during
pregnancy.
Covid-19 Situation in Bangladesh
In
order to protect the population, the government declared "lockdown"
throughout the nation from 23 March to 30 May and prepared some necessary steps
to spread awareness to keep this syndrome away from them. Infections remained
low until the end of March but saw a steep rise in April.In the week ending on
11 April, new cases in Bangladesh grew by 1,155 percent, the highest in Asia,
ahead of Indonesia, with 186
percent. On 6 May, cases were confirmed in all districts. Rangamati was the last district to report confirmed cases of
COVID-19. On 13 June, the number of cases in Bangladesh exceeded the number of
cases in China, the country where the
outbreak began. Bangladesh reached two grim milestones of 160,000 cases and 2,000
deaths on 5 July and overtook France in
terms of the number of cases two days later. The number of recoveries in the
country exceeded the number of active cases on 12 July. Bangladesh is the third
most affected country in South Asia,
after India and Pakistan. Medical experts feared that not enough tests were being
conducted. Newspaper reports and social media continued to report about
additional deaths of patients with COVID-19 symptoms. Some of the deceased were
treated at COVID-19 isolation centers at hospitals in the districts and others
were denied treatment, though no tests were conducted to confirm
contagion. For a long time, testing was centralised to only the Institute
of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR)
in the capital Dhaka, although patients
with symptoms were reported all around the country. On 22 March,
Bangladesh declared a 10-day shut down effective from 26 March to 4
April.
This
was later extended to 30 May. Besides, Medical-grade Oxygen has been a concern
to look at as the present demand for Oxygen in Bangladesh is around 200 tonnes
in a day for medical treatment purposes, which has a significant possibility to
elevate at an exponential rate every day, hence, to meet up the potential needs,
Bangladesh is required to ready itself, by establishing a demand forecasting
model for Medical-grade Oxygen at the earliest with the coordinated efforts of
Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE); and Institute of Epidemiology,
Disease Control and Research (IEDCR).
A series of hotline numbers, email address, and the Facebook page of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) are provided for people to contact if they suspect COVID-19 infection or need more information.
|
COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh |
|
|
District wise COVID-19 epidemiological map of confirmed cases (as of 3 October 2020) 1-9 confirmed cases 10-99 confirmed cases 100-999 confirmed cases 1000-9999 confirmed cases ≥9999 confirmed cases |
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|
Disease |
COVID-19 |
|
Virus strain |
SARS-CoV-2 |
|
Location |
Bangladesh |
|
First outbreak |
Wuhan, Hubei, China |
|
Index case |
Narayanganj & Madaripur (Hospitalized
in Dhaka) |
|
Arrival date |
8 March 2020 |
|
Confirmed cases |
794,985 |
|
Recovered |
735,157 |
|
Deaths |
12,480 |
|
Fatality rate |
2% |
|
Government website |
|
|
corona.gov.bd |
|
Background
Bangladesh
faces significant challenges in combating COVID-19 as it is a densely populated
country and also houses a million stateless Rohingya
refugees in sprawling refugee camps that are
conducive to the spread of epidemics. It also has a significant migrant
populations living in Italy, a COVID-affected country.
January
On
22 January, the authorities at the Dhaka airport put
the airports on alert by screening travelers from China.
February
On
1 February, a special flight from Bangladesh evacuated 312 Bangladeshi citizens
stranded in Wuhan. The evacuees were
quarantined for 14 days at the Ashkona Hajj
Camp in Dhaka and other locations. None of them tested positive for the
coronavirus.
March
On
8 March, the first three coronavirus cases were confirmed. They included two
men that recently returned from Italy and
a female relative. On the same day, the government decided to scale down the
grand ceremony planned for Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's birth centenary on 17 March.
On
15 March 142 passengers returned from Italy, who were also taken to the Ashkona
Hajj camp. After they complained about the unsanitary conditions there, many of
them were allowed to go home with advice to self-isolate. Health experts
expressed serious reservations about the action.
On
18 March, Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus death. The patient was aged
over 70 and had other morbidities. By the end of March Bangladesh had reported
51 confirmed cases and five deaths.
The
government-imposed "general holiday" (i.e. general lock-down) came
into effect on 26 March, it was announced on 23 March and initially stated to
be in place until 4 April.
April
The
"general holiday" (lockdown) due to end on 4 April was extended to
April 11, then to April 14, then to April 25, and then again to May 5.Bangladesh
crossed the figure of 100 confirmed cases on 6 April and 1,000 confirmed cases
on 14 April. On 20 April, the number of confirmed deaths crossed 100.
May
The
"general holiday' (lockdown) was extended to May 7, then to May 16, and
finally to May 30, with the government announcing on May 27 there will be no
further extension. On the topic of easing the lockdown measures, Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina said "Economic activities have to be resumed for the sake of
the lives and livelihoods of people. Most countries of the world have already
been compelled to relax shut down because it is not possible to restrict
people's source of income for an indefinite period. And it is not at all
possible for a developing country like Bangladesh too."
June
On June 18, the number of confirmed cases crossed 100,000 (one lakh) people.
July
On July 18, the number of confirmed cases crossed 200,000 (two lakh) people.
Timeline of
the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh
|
COVID-19 cases in Bangladesh Deaths Recoveries Active
cases 20202021 JanFebMarAprMay Last 15 days |
|||
|
Date |
# of cases |
# of deaths |
|
|
2021-05-13 |
|
778,687(+0.17%) |
12,076(+0.26%) |
|
2021-05-14 |
|
779,535(+0.11%) |
12,102(+0.22%) |
|
2021-05-15 |
|
779,796(+0.03%) |
12,124(+0.18%) |
|
2021-05-16 |
|
780,159(+0.05%) |
12,149(+0.21%) |
|
2021-05-17 |
|
780,857(+0.09%) |
12,181(+0.26%) |
|
2021-05-18 |
|
782,129(+0.16%) |
12,211(+0.25%) |
|
2021-05-19 |
|
783,737(+0.21%) |
12,248(+0.3%) |
|
2021-05-20 |
|
785,194(+0.19%) |
12,284(+0.29%) |
|
2021-05-21 |
|
786,427(+0.16%) |
12,310(+0.21%) |
|
2021-05-22 |
|
787,726(+0.17%) |
12,348(+0.31%) |
|
2021-05-23 |
|
789,080(+0.17%) |
12,376(+0.23%) |
|
2021-05-24 |
|
790,521(+0.18%) |
12,401(+0.2%) |
|
2021-05-25 |
|
792,196(+0.21%) |
12,441(+0.32%) |
|
2021-05-26 |
|
793,693(+0.19%) |
12,458(+0.14%) |
|
2021-05-27 |
|
794,985(+0.16%) |
12,480(+0.18%) |
|
Sources: |
|||
Government response
It
was widely argued in the national media to declare proclamation of
emergency although the Sheikh Hasina government pragmatically handled the
COVID-19 situation within the constitutional scheme of normal times.
Social distancing measures
On 23 March, when Bangladesh had 33 confirmed cases, the government declared a ten-day nationwide holiday for the period 26 March – 4 April, ordering all public and private offices to be closed, with the exception of emergency services. People have been asked to practice social distancing and stay at home. Public transport would be limited and advice was given to avoid them. The measure has been described as a "lockdown" by the media albeit a "relaxed" one. The government asked the Army to ensure social distancing. ABC News Australia reported that 290 teams of soldiers were deployed across the country, that streets were empty in the capital Dhaka and the roadside shops were closed. It also said that thousands of people left Dhaka for their home villages.
The
"general holiday" (lockdown) was extended several times throughout
April and May, until officially ceasing on 30 May 2020. Ending the lockdown
appears to have been primarily driven by concerns regarding its economic
impact, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina saying "Economic activities have
to be resumed for the sake of the lives and livelihoods of people. Most
countries of the world have already been compelled to relax shut down because it
is not possible to restrict people's source of income for an indefinite period.
And it is not at all possible for a developing country like Bangladesh
too."
On
9 April, Bangladesh imposed a 'complete lockdown' on the Cox's Bazar
District where the majority of the Rohingya
refugee camps are located. "No entry, no exit – until the situation
improves", said the government directive.
Keeping
refugee communities healthy and informed in Cox's Bazar, from the International
Organization for Migration. The final set of
restrictions on public movement were officially lifted on 1 September. These
restrictions had included prohibiting movement outdoors from 10 PM to 5 AM
(except in case of emergencies), the closure of all shops, bazaars, and malls
after 8 PM, and the prohibition of meetings, rallies, and mass gatherings (which
had come into effect from 4 August). The Road Transport and Bridges Ministry
had also announced on 29 August that the restrictions on buses, which had
hitherto directed buses to run below seat capacity and charge higher fares to
passengers, would end. A number of health experts expressed their concern at
the news. Virologist Dr. Nazrul Islam, member of the National Technical Advisory
Committee for COVID-19 and former VC of BSMMU said "the disease
transmission rate should be under 5%, but till now the daily positive cases
rate is still 15.97% and on Monday it was around 17%. So, it can be said that
the time for lifting restrictions has not yet arrived." And Professor
Muzaherul Huq, a former adviser of the World Health Organization's Southeast Asia
region, told The Daily Star newspaper that "lifting of restrictions from
public transport was a risky move if the physical distancing is relaxed in
public transport, the transmission would definitely rise."
Repatriation of Bangladeshi citizens
On
31 January, a special flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines with special
quarantine, three physicians, a nurse, and required medical equipment on board
flew to Wuhan, China to evacuate stranded Bangladeshi citizens.
On
1 February 312 Bangladeshi citizens (297 were adults and 15 children) stranded
in Wuhan, China were evacuated and brought back to Bangladesh. Most of the
Bangladeshis were students and Ph.D. researchers at different universities in the
Hubei province in China where their provincial government launched multiple
screening tests before allowing them to get on board the plane. The majority of the
evacuees were quarantined for 14 days at the Hajj Camp in Ashkona in Dhaka and
some at the Combined Military Hospital before being released two weeks
later. None of these returnees from Wuhan China were tested positive for
coronavirus.
Travel
and entry restrictions
On
22 January, the authorities at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) in Dhaka reported that they had put the
airports on alert to prevent the spread of coronavirus in
Bangladesh by screening travelers from China, where the virus had at that time
infected nearly 300 people and killed six people. The airport claimed to turn
on its thermal scanner to scan passengers to detect any infection in passengers
traveling from China. A.H.M. Touhid-ul Ahsan, director of the main
Shahjalal International Airport said doctors at the airport would look for
fevers, cough, breathing difficulties, and sore throats. The country's Institute
of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research were
to be notified of any passengers with symptoms for further examination, he
said.
On
2 February, the government of Bangladesh decided to suspend on-arrival visas
for Chinese visitors. The Chittagong port also announced that as a
precautionary measure to prevent the spread of coronavirus from the ships that
bring goods from around the world, the port health officer would examine all
sailors of the ships coming from the East Asian countries.
On
14 March, on-arrival visas were suspended for all countries, and flights from
all European countries other than the United Kingdom were stopped. This
reportedly increased tourist traffic at the beaches in Chittagong and Cox's Bazar,
counteracting the government measure.
International
flights began to resume from Dhaka airport on 16 June 2020, with only Qatar Airways and Biman Bangladesh Airlines initially permitted to fly. On 24 June, Emirates resumed flights to Dhaka, on a reduced capacity.
Recovery
On
3 May, according to new guidelines, the total number of recoveries in
Bangladesh crossed 1,000 marks by surging sharply. At the beginning of June,
over 10,000 coronavirus patients recovered so far. Two weeks later, on 15 June,
the first day of monsoon, Bangladesh reported over 15,000 recoveries, the
highest jump in the total number of recoveries in the country, taking it to
34,027. The total number of recoveries crossed 40,000 marks on 18 June and
50,000 one week later. At the beginning of July, the number of patients who
have recovered from the coronavirus disease crossed 60,000 marks. Three days
later, the number of recoveries from the coronavirus disease crossed 70,000
marks. On 8 July, the number of recoveries crossed 80,000 marks before
exceeding the number of active cases. The number of people who have recovered
from the disease crossed 90,000 marks on 12 July and 100,000 two days later. As
of 14 July, there are now over 100,000 patients who have recovered from the
coronavirus disease. The number of recoveries in Bangladesh exceeded the number
of recoveries in France on 7 July and the number of recoveries in China one day
later. The country also reported more than 50,000 new recoveries from 16 June
to 9 July.
The recovery rate in Bangladesh was very low until early May. The recovery rate in
the country improved sharply to about 11% on 3 May and kept improving over
time. The recovery rate improved sharply again to nearly 38% in the middle of
June. As of 12 July, the recovery rate is over 50%, which means that more than
half of all patients have recovered from the disease. The recovery rate in
Bangladesh exceeded the recovery rate in France on 7 July. Five days later, the
recovery rate exceeded 50%.
Transmission
rate
In
March and April 2020, the COVID-19 transmission rate in Bangladesh was around
2, which meant that two people could be infected with the virus from one
person. However, the transmission rate of COVID-19 in the country fell as time
passed. As of 26 June, the transmission rate of the coronavirus disease in the
country is 1.05, which is a very good sign. Model-based simulations suggest
that the 95% confidence interval for
the time-varying reproduction number was
below 1.0 and falling from December 2020 to February 2021.
Health
Minister Zahid Malik said that the situation in Bangladesh improved as the
growth rate of infections slowed down and the doubling period of infections got
longer and that the minimum number of COVID-19 tests performed daily in the
country was also improved to 15,000. He also said that, on 3 July, the maximum
growth rate of infections in the country fell to 2.5% the day after the number
of COVID-19 cases exceeded 150,000. As of 3 July, Bangladesh sees a growth rate
of infections less than 2.5%. The health minister said that, until 10 July, the
minimum doubling period of infections in the country was improved to 25 days.
As of 10 July, the number of coronavirus cases in Bangladesh takes more than 25
days to double.
Curve
flattening
Malik
announced that Bangladesh started flattening the coronavirus curve on 23 June
as thousands of tests were performed every day in the country to improve the
situation and that the coronavirus curve flattened on the last eight days of
June and the first six days of July. He also believed that excessive testing in
Bangladesh caused the COVID-19 curve to flatten. Malik said that the curve
flattened again after decreasing for six days. On 26 June, three days after the
curve started flattening, a record of 18,498 samples was tested in the country,
which was above the minimum number of tests performed every day.
Some health experts believed that Bangladesh succeeded in flattening the curve, slowing down the growth rate of infections, and extending the doubling period of infections. They also said that excessive testing in the country improved the situation, slowed down the growth rate of infections, and extended the doubling period of infections. The coronavirus curve in Bangladesh stopped increasing on 23 June and started decreasing two weeks later. On 13 July, the curve flattened again. As of 13 July, the COVID-19 curve in the country is flattening for another time. On 27 June, which was four days after the curve stopped increasing, there were more than 700,000 samples tested in the country.
Fighting
disinformation
Some
people have been arrested for allegedly
spreading false information about
the coronavirus pandemic. According to Human Rights Watch, "Since mid-March 2020, the authorities have
apparently arrested at least a dozen people, including a doctor, opposition
activists, and students, for their comments about coronavirus, most of them
under the draconian Digital Security Act."
But
disinformation does not affect the whole of society equally, since women in
this country are less likely to receive information about COVID-19 than men.
The reasons that prevent women from being well informed about the pandemic are
their difficulty in owning a mobile phone and accessing the Internet, as well
as their low level of education. However, it is crucial that they have access
to accurate and reliable information about the coronavirus, as they are the
ones in charge of promoting hygiene in the household.
April
2021 lockdown
On
5 April 2021 a seven-day lockdown was announced by the Bangladeshi government,
including all domestic travel suspended and shopping malls shut alongside a curfew between 6pm and 6am. This followed a record new 7, 087 new COVID-19
cases on 4 April, coinciding with a near-doubling of their testing rate from
mid-March into the start of April. Some protests against this lockdown occurred
in Dhaka, while the local media also criticised the lacklustre and inconsistent
enforcement of lockdown rules throughout the country. Some schools continued to
hold classes during the week.
On
6 April, merchant groups held protests in the capital, demanding an end to the
lockdown, and the safe reopening of shops, by following hygiene guidelines.
On
7 April, public transport resumed in all metropolitan areas of the country,
including Dhaka, after two days of closure.
On
9 April, markets and stores were officially reopened throughout the country,
although many were unofficially open earlier in the week. The closures led to
more crowded markets than before, and higher prices, as customers flocked to
stores to buy needed goods before Ramadan.
On
12 April, the government declared that from 14 to 21 April, commercial banks
will be closed, except for foreign exchange banks near port areas. Public
transportation will again be closed, as well as government offices. However,
emergency services, including garment factories and other industries, will
remain open.
The
Bangladesh Police are implementing movement passes, which must be issued from
their website to leave your home, including for jobs, grocery purchases, or
medical needs. If used for commuting, two passes must be issued to go and return.
A photograph of the applicant must be uploaded, as well as identification
papers, the reason for travel, and dates and times.
On
14 April, it was reported that police checkpoints were checking those in
vehicles for movement passes, but those on foot were allowed to pass.
On
17 April, markets were reopening in Barisal, sometimes only unofficially in
alleyways.
On
28 April, the lockdown period will end, prioritizing livelihoods over what has
been a mild illness in Bangladesh, with some of the lowest death rates in the
world. The country will reopen in accordance with hygiene.
Testing and monitoring
Testing
Bangladesh
has consistently shown one of the lowest test rates per capita in the world and
concerns that the level of testing have been insufficient to accurately
understand the spread of infection have often been aired. The number of daily
tests reached heights of approximately 18,000 by the end of June, but then
began to rapidly decline in July (with typical numbers in the range of 10,000
to 14,000 per day throughout July and August). A change in government policy
was cited as the cause for the decline, following the introduction of a charge
for tests (which had hitherto been free in government facilities) announced on
June 29 and requirements for a doctor's referral for a test.
The number of samples tested in Bangladesh exceeded 100,000 on 7 May. Less than two weeks later, the number of samples tested in the country exceeded 200,000. At the end of May, there were over 300,000 samples tested. On 8 June, more than 400,000 samples were tested in Bangladesh. The number of samples tested exceeded 500,000 six days later. On 21 June, there were more than 600,000 samples tested. The number of samples tested exceeded 700,000 on 27 June and 800,000 five days later. On 9 July, the number of samples tested in the country exceeded 900,000. On 17 July 2020, the number of tests conducted to date crossed the threshold of one million samples.
|
Test
related data |
|
|
Total Sample Tested |
2,442,602 |
|
Tested
per Million |
15,144 |
|
Tested
in Last 24 Hours |
12,760 |
|
Total
Positive |
420,238 |
|
The above data was issued by
the IEDCR, as of 8 November 2020 |
|
Treatment
Bangladesh
has 1,169 ICU beds, amounting to
0.72 beds per 100,000 citizens. Of these 432 beds are in government hospitals
and 737 in private hospitals. There are only 550 ventilators in the country.
On
21 March, the IEDCR announced that 150 ICU beds would be made available for COVID
treatment in Dhaka, and more would be provided in other parts of Bangladesh. By
8 April, it was reported that 112 ICU beds were available, of which 79 were in
Dhaka, 26 in Mymensingh, 5 in Khulna and 2 in Sylhet. The government was in the
process of procuring 380 ventilators. There were also 7,693 isolated beds
around the country.
Vaccine trials and vaccinations
COVID-19 vaccination in Bangladesh
On
21 June, China invited Bangladesh to get priority access to COVID-19
vaccine once it is developed. On 26 June,
the Chinese government announced
that they might perform second-phase clinical trials of the vaccine in
Bangladesh.
The Chinese government also believed that the coronavirus vaccine, if developed,
might be given to Bangladesh by August as the priority.
In
July 2020, Sinovac Biotech was given
approval by the Bangladesh Medical Research Council to begin a third-phase
trial of a potential COVID-19 vaccine (now known as CoronaVac) at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal
Disease Research, Bangladesh.[The Bangladesh government later decided to
cancel the trial of the vaccine.
On
2 July 2020, A Bangladeshi private pharmaceutical company Globe Biotech Limited
announced to be the first company from Bangladesh to have a COVID-19 vaccine
under development. The lone Bangladeshi company actually developed three
COVID-19 vaccine candidates with different technologies. The company named
the mRNA based vaccine
as Bangavax, which was initially
called Bancovid. Globe Biotech took all the necessary steps from
December 2020 to January 2021 to get the permission for ethical approval to
conduct the first clinical trial of Bangavax, which also got listed in the
'Draft landscape and tracker of COVID-19 candidate vaccines by the World
Health Organization (WHO).
On
5 November 2020, a tripartite agreement was signed between the government
of Bangladesh, the Serum
Institute of India, and Beximco Pharma of Bangladesh. Under the agreement Bangladesh ordered
30 million doses of Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine from Serum through Beximco for $4 per shot. On
the other hand, the Indian government has given 3.2 million doses to Bangladesh as
a gift which were also produced by Serum. But Serum supplied only 7 million
doses from the tripartite agreement in the first two months of the
year. Bangladesh was supposed to receive 5 million doses per month but not
received shipments in March and April. As a result, the rollout of vaccines has
been disrupted by supply shortfalls. Most people who have received the
first dose are not getting the second dose on time. Not getting the second
dose at the right time is likely to reduce the effectiveness of the vaccination
program. In addition, several citizens of Bangladesh have expressed doubts
about its effectiveness and safety. Bangladesh is looking for alternative
vaccine sources because India isn't supplying the vaccine according to the
timeline of the deal.
In
28 April 2021 Govt. approves the proposal to local production of Russian Sputnik V, Chinese Sinopharm Covid-19
vaccines.
Bangladesh
regulatory body approves the emergency use of Sputnik V on 27 April and Sinopharm BBIBP-CorV vaccine on 29 April.
Impacts
Economic
The
COVID-19 pandemic has heavily impacted household and individual level earnings
in Bangladesh with around 13 percent of people have become unemployed, being
women in informal employment more likely than men to see their working hours
reduced; meanwhile, the national poverty is predicted to increase by 25.13
percent, claimed by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS).
The
pandemic has taken a heavy toll on almost all sectors of the economy, inter
Alia, most notably, it has caused a reduction of exports by 16.93 percent,
imports by 17 percent, and also a decline of average revenue for all small and
medium enterprises (SMEs) by 66 percent in 2020 compared to 2019.
Exceptionally, only remittance inflow has seen an 11 percent increase this
year.
Even
though garment factories were allowed to continue operating under the country's
lockdown, an estimated one million garment workers, or one-quarter of the workforce was laid off due to declining orders for export.
On
5 April, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced
a stimulus package amounting to some US$8bn.
Education
Bangladesh
has approximately 200,000 educational institutions across the country and over
40 million students.
In
March, Bangladesh closed all of its educational institutions in order to reduce
the spread of COVID-19. Initially, on 17 March, when Bangladesh had 8 confirmed
cases, the government announced all schools would be closed for the remainder
of March. Dhaka University was also closed for the same period. The Education
Ministry announced an extension of the closures to April 9. However, with the
situation not improving Dhaka University announced on 9 April it would remain
closed indefinitely. With educational intuitions still closed by the end
of April, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced that they could remain closed
until September 2020, unless the situation improves. On June 14, the
ministry of education officially extended school closures to August 6. On 27
August a Ministry of Education confirmed schools would remain closed until 3
October.
Dhaka
University began online classes in July 2020, as have many other
universities and schools. Experts and students have voiced concerns about
accessibility to online classes for many students in Bangladesh; with poorer
students, particularly in rural areas, lacking the devices and internet
connectivity to participate in their classes. Some have suggested online classes
will only further the "educational divide" whereby the most
disadvantaged students (who usually attend public universities on scholarships)
will fall behind their peers due to a lack of accessibility.
Standardized
school examinations have been impacted by the school closures. The HSC exams, which were scheduled to hold in April 2020, were
postponed indefinitely. By August 2020 with schools still closed, there was much
uncertainty regarding when, and even if, the JSC exams, PEC exams (which
are normally scheduled for November), and HSC exams will be held. On 24
August it was announced that the PEC exams will not be held, with assessments
to be conducted by schools instead. Then on 27 August, it was confirmed that the
JSC would not be held either and a circular was issued extending the school
closure until 3 October.
Educational
institutions remained closed for over one year. Amidst rising numbers of cases
the planned reopening of educational institutions, scheduled for 30 March
2021 (following a series of postponements), was again postponed until 23
May 2021, according to an announcement by the Education Minister in March 2021.
Transport
Air
travel
In
March, Bangladesh suspended all flights, both domestic and international, to
manage the spread of the virus. Initially, direct flights to the UK and China were
exempted from the flight suspensions, but the UK was suspended in April too
making China the sole exception.
In At the beginning of June, domestic flights resumed on a limited scale. International
flights resumed from Dhaka airport on 16 June 2020, with only Qatar Airways and Biman Bangladesh Airlines initially permitted to fly. Flights to and from
the UK resumed on 21 June. On 24 June, flights to and from the UAE became operational via Emirates. Flights to and
from Saudi Arabia resumed on 3 July.
Nearly two weeks later, flights to and from Turkey resumed.
Presentation
of a COVID-19 negative certificate became mandatory for all Bangladeshi
nationals wishing to travel abroad from 23 July 2020. The government stipulated
that all passengers must possess a document certifying a negative test result,
which had been carried out within 72 hours prior to travel, regardless of
destination and airline used. These tests had to have been carried out at
one of 16 specific government-listed testing facilities. However, in an
inter-ministry meeting on 30 July, it was announced that the decision had been
taken that the certificates will only be required for travelers whose
destination country or chosen airline policy requires one.
Domestic the airline resumed operations from 1 June 2020, initially with very few
passengers. The CAAB prescribed that all
airlines have to keep at least 30 percent of seats vacant on each flight to ensure
social distancing by keeping a minimum gap of a seat between two passengers, if
they are not from the same family, and that the front of the last row of seats
on each flight must remain vacant for carrying any passenger who is suspected
of carrying the coronavirus. Also, the crew are only to provide necessary in-flight
services with no food or drink served in flights with airtime of less than
one and half hours. On 13 September 2020 the restrictions on passenger
seating was lifted, with only the requirement to leave two rows vacant for
suspected COVID positive passengers remaining.
In
April 2021, with cases rising steeply, the Government announced another
national lockdown and the suspension of all international flights to and from
Bangladesh. The initial week-long suspension was extended to 17 days
before the partial resumption of flights on 1 May 2021.
Migrant workers
The
introduction of lock-down measures, economic declines, and reduction in global
mobility across the world has severely impacted Bangladeshi migrant workers. It
is thought that around ten million Bangladeshis work overseas, especially
across the middle east. Thousands of these workers have been forced to return to
Bangladesh, largely because of job lay-offs. Kuwait for example has proposed a bill that would see 200,000 of the 350,000 Bangladeshi workers there compelled
to leave the Gulf state. Most of these workers have struggled to find work in
Bangladesh on their return, with 70 percent unemployed according to an International
Organization for Migration report published in
August 2020.
Rohingya refugees
At the time of the pandemic, Bangladesh was housing over a million Rohingya
refugees in refugee camps in Cox's
Bazar. One in ten households in the camps were
reported to have at least one individual above the age of five with a chronic
illness or disability, increasing the risk of complications or death if they
contract COVID-19. The high population density, poor sanitation facilities, and
limited access to healthcare in the camps is conducive to the spread of a viral illness such as COVID-19.
On
9 April, Bangladesh imposed a 'complete lockdown' on the camps with "No
entry, no exit – until the situation improves", said the government
directive.As of 23 June 2020, 46 Rohingya refugees had tested positive for the
virus and five deaths had been confirmed. As of 7 August 2020, the number of
confirmed cases had risen to 78 and the number of deaths to six.
A
study by Save the Children and
other carried out in May 2020 found that 40 per cent of Rohingya children in
the camps expressed being scared of dying of the virus or losing loved ones to
it. "Children tell us they're scared of dying. The fear of death or
losing a loved one can be very distressing for a child, especially when many
have already experienced intense trauma and loss, having been forced from their
homes in Myanmar and stuck in a congested refugee camp for the past three
years." said Onno van Manen, Country Director for Save the Children in
Bangladesh. Save the Children announced they were to open new isolation and
treatment center for COVID-19 patients with a capacity of up to 60 beds. There
are concerns that COVID-19 could be devastating for elderly Rohingya refugees,
particularly as in June 2019 Amnesty International had reported that older Rohingya refugees in the
camps in Bangladesh are often being left behind in the humanitarian response
efforts.
Expatriate Bangladeshis
As
of 17 April 2020, news media outlets confirmed that there were 147 Bangladeshis
who died from the coronavirus in the United States.
Controversies
Mass gathering
On
18 April 2020, during the general lockdown, a massive crowd of an estimated
100,000 people gathered in Sylhet to attend the funeral prayers of Islamic
scholar Allama Maulana Zubayer Ahmed Ansari. Social distancing measures were
not observed as crowds reportedly blocked nearly two kilometers of the
Dhaka-Sylhet highway. It was not the only Mass gathering. Subsequently,
massive public gatherings were observed at various political, social and
national events.
Fake Covid certificates
In
July 2020, several arrests were made after it emerged that Regent Hospital in
Dhaka had issued thousands of fake COVID-19 negative certificates without
conducting the testing. The hospitals had allegedly "carried out 10,500
coronavirus tests, out of which 4,200 were genuine and the rest, 6,300 test
reports were given without conducting tests" according to a RAB spokesperson. It was estimated that two to three
crore Taka (approximately 230,000 to 350,00 USD) may have been made through
these illegal activities. Following a nine-day manhunt, Regent Hospital Chairman
Mohammad Shahed was arrested near the Indian border disguised in a burqa. Regent
Hospitals had signed a deal with the DGHS in
March to provide COVID-19 testing, despite Regent Hospital's license having
expired in 2014, which was reportedly known to the health services division of
the health ministry.
Denial of medical treatment
Fear
of the transmission of COVID-19, particularly in the early months of the
outbreak meant that many patients were turned away from hospitals (private and
public), with some dying as a result. In April 2020 for example, Dhaka
University student Suman Chakma died after being
denied treatment for lung cancer at several hospitals in Dhaka who feared his
symptoms could be COVID-19. The media reported on several more cases of patients
lacking COVID-19 certificates being denied admission to multiple hospitals throughout
April, May, and June, including that of a five-year-old child hit by a
vehicle who died en-route between several hospitals in Chattogram and even the
additional secretary to the food ministry, Gautam Aich Sarker, died of a kidney
condition after being turned away from several hospitals in Dhaka.In June 2020,
22-year-old nurse Habiba Sultana died after being denied emergency treatment at
the hospital she worked at, following a stroke.She had tested negative for
COVID-19, but the document had been misplaced and so her admission was refused,
she was finally admitted hours later when the police got involved, but by then
she had passed.
The government took a publicly strong stance against these incidences. In reference
to the case of DU student Suman Chakma, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said of
the doctors involved that "They don't deserve to work as a doctor or do
other jobs. I think they should be driven out of their jobs," and that
"doctors have a duty to perform." The Health Ministry warned of
strict action against hospitals that denied treatment, including the
cancellation of licenses, if they violate the order. The DGHS stated that
hospitals should inform them if they fail to admit any suspected COVID-19
patient requesting treatment and that "hospitals violating this order will
face legal action". On 11 May the health ministry issued an order
that all private hospitals should keep separate arrangements for suspected
coronavirus patients and not turn away any patients if they have treatment facilities.
The same day, the ministry gave a similar directive to the public hospitals. On
May 24, the ministry issued another order directing all the government and
private hospitals with 50 or more beds to make separate arrangements for
treating COVID-19 patients. However, despite these measures cases of patients
being denied treatment on the grounds of suspected COVID-19 symptoms continued.
References
Wikipedia