Dhaka – Two doctors are among the four new novel coronavirus cases detected Friday in Bangladesh, raising the national total of Covid-10 patient to 48, an official said.
No new death was however reported in the last 24 hours ended
on Friday morning, according to Meerjady Sabrina Flora, the director of
Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research.
She said four persons including two physicians have been
tested Covid-19 positive. Two of them
are in Dhaka while the rest outside the capital city.
One newly infected aged over 20, one aged above 31, one aged
41 the rest in his sixties.
The IECDR director said Bangladesh reported partial community
infections urging people to stay at home to help prevent spread of the deadly
virus.
Eleven out of the total of 48 patients recovered while
health condition of the other infected people is stable.
Covid-19 outbreak
The South Asian country reported its first three cases of
novel coronavirus on March 8 and five people – all over 60 years of old – died so
far.
The government is trying to decentralized the testing facilities
for the Covid-19 as the facilities were limited previously at the IEDCR. Now Bangladesh
Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases (BITID) at Faujdarhat in
Chittagong has started testing of the virus.
“Area-based sample collection and testing facilities will be
carried out across the country very soon for rapid confirmation coronavirus
cases,” Flora said.
In order to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the
government has set up a coordinated control room comprising different committee
at Director General of Health Services, she said.
These committees under the control room are working the
round the clock to provide healthcare services to the people so that COVID-19
could not be spread.
Covid-19
Alongside the coordinated control room, the government has
set a control room at the Prime Minister’s Office and another one has set up at
the health ministry to curb the spread of the deadly virus.
“Control rooms are also available at district and upazila
levels to ensure quick access of the people to healthcare facilities” the IEDCR
director added.
She said foreign countries including China and Singapore,
different development partners and local companies and organizations are
extending assistance through providing different protective equipment and
hygienic materials for identifying coronavirus positive cases side by side
containing the spread of the disease.
“At the initial stage, we were testing only foreign
returnee…. now are expanding our examining areas. All potential groups of
people including professionals, who have remained with public contacts, have
been brought under testing facilities to detect COVID-19 cases.”
In Dhaka, the diagnosis facility is expanding to
Gonoshasthaya Kendra, Dhaka Shishu (Children) Hospital, Dhaka Medical College
and Hospital and Sir Salimullah Medical College and Hospital, she added.
“So far, we have tested samples of 1026 persons, of which
106 were tested in the last 24 hours,” Flora said urging people to call only two
hotline numbers – 01944333222, 10655 – which will connect the other toll free
numbers.
People can get their required COVID-19 related information
through e-mail [email protected] and facebook account-Iedcr.