COVID-19 patients
Opposition MPs call Health Minister “shameless” over health sector “failures”
Terming Health Minister Zahid Maleque a "shameless man" for his “failure, widespread corruption in the health sector and mismanagement in coronavirus treatment, opposition MPs of Jatiya Party and BNP on Saturday demanded his immediate resignation.
They sharply criticized the health minister in Parliament for his failure to ensure oxygen in different hospitals for Covid-19 patients as many died in Satkhira and Bogura districts.
The health minister was not there in the House but Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was present at the time.
BNP MP Gulam Mohammad Siraj from Bogura-6 first launched the blistering attack on the health minister while speaking on a point of order.
He alleged that around 24 Covid-19 patients died in the last two days in Bogura for lack of oxygen.
The BP MP said Mohammad Ali Hospital in Bogra is a dedicated hospital to Covid-19 treatment but there are only eight ICU beds there and only two high-flow nasal cannula oxygen facilities. “As a result, the rest of the ICU beds are useless.”
Also read: Corruption in health sector widespread: GM Quader
He also said 450 beds in 3 hospitals in Bogra are overwhelmed with Covid-19 patients leaving no scope for the hospitalization of new patients.
Gulam Mohammad demanded immediate supply of 20 high-flow oxygen to every hospital.
Jatiya Party Chairman and Deputy Leader of the Opposition in parliament GM Quader, in his winding-up speech, pointed out widespread mismanagement in the health sector, including the health ministry.
He said the health ministry is still there where it was a year ago. “There has been no improvement.”
Covid-19 burials: Quantum volunteers working through this lockdown too
The Quantum Foundation, one of the voluntary organizations in the country, is actively involved in the burials of coronavirus victims, even amidst an all-out lockdown across the country.
Thousands of Quantum volunteers are working 24 hours a day or night for the burial of the deceased, regardless of religion, said a press release from Quantum Foundation.
Despite the lockdown, relentless humanitarian service activities are going on all over the country including the capital.
Khandaker Sajibul Islam, who is in charge of Quantum Burial in Kakrail, said, "We were able to bury 20 bodies of coronavirus victim in Dhaka till night on the first day of the nationwide lockdown on July 1."
Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh sees 132 more daily deaths, 8,483 cases
Quantum Foundation workers have buried nearly 4,000 bodies since 2020.
Quantum has been working for the burials of bodies with coronavirus or corona symptoms since the beginning of Corona in April, 2020.
Covid swallowing people in Bangladesh; 132 more die
As Covid-19 cases keep surging at a breakneck speed across Bangladesh, the country reported more than 100 deaths for the sixth straight day until early Friday, after confirming its first fatality on March 18 last year.
The new number, 132 deaths, took the country's toll to 14,778. Bangladesh reported 143 deaths on Thursday, its highest-ever daily fatality from the pandemic, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Also, 8,483 people were diagnosed with the disease from 30,012 sample tests in the preceding 24 hours, bringing the country's caseload since the beginning of the pandemic to 930,042. Bangladesh reported its highest single-day cases of 8,822 on Wednesday.
The country's test positivity rate reached the peak at 28.27%, which was 25.90% on Thursday and 24.87% on August 4 last year.
Also read: Lockdown: Dhaka dons deserted look on Day 2
Also, new infections have been averaging nearly 7,000 for the past few days – 99% of the peak. The highest daily average was reported on April 9.
Covid positive former fisheries minister Narayan Chandra hospitalised
Former fisheries and livestock Minister Narayan Chandra Chando and also Khulna-5 MP, was hospitalised Wednesday after testing positive.
He was admitted to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University at around 9am, Khulna District Awami League Joint Secretary Advocate Farid Ahmed told UNB.
Also read: Bangladesh sees record high daily Covid cases of 8,822; 115 more die
Bangladesh's Covid-19 situation is getting from bad to worse. It reported a record-high number of daily Covid-19 infections in the past 24 hours till Wednesday morning after confirming its first cases on March 8 last year.
The country, battling to get a second coronavirus wave under control, also reported more than 100 deaths for a fourth straight day.
Also read: Nationwide mass vaccination to resume Thursday
The new 8,822 cases have pushed Bangladesh's caseload to 913,258, and 115 more fatalities brought its toll to 14,503.
Covid claims 112 more lives in Bangladesh; positivity rate hits 23.97%
The Covid-19 situation in Bangladesh is gradually heading towards a grim level as the country reported 112 more deaths and 7,666 fresh infections in 24 hours till Tuesday morning.
With the new infections, the country’s positivity rate reached another peak of 23.97% from Monday’s 23.86% which was recorded 23.57% last on April 9 this year.
The percentage reached this shocking level after the test of 31,982 samples during the period, according to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
New infections have been averaging 5,000 for the past few days – 75% of the peak.
Bangladesh is reporting over 100 deaths for the third consecutive day this month.
The country saw a record level of 8,436 Covid cases on Monday and the highest 119 deaths on Sunday since confirming its first cases on March 8 last year.
With the new numbers, the country’s death toll now stands at 14,388 while the caseload at 904,436.
However, the country’s fatality rate remained static at 1.59% while the recovery rate fell to 89.75% following a continuous drop.
Read: Massive vaccination to begin in July: PM
Of the deaths, 35 were reported in Khulna today, recording the highest among all divisions for the third consecutive day, while 22 in Dhaka, 21 in Rajshahi, 16 in Chattogram, 10 in Rangpur, four in Mymensingh, three in Barishal and one in Sylhet divisions.
The Dhaka division remained the highest fatal region recording 7,562 deaths followed by Chattogram with 2,727 deaths, Khulna with 1,235 deaths and Rajshahi with 1,011 deaths.
Health minister hopes to get 11 crore vaccine doses by December
Bangladesh hopes to procure 11 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccines from different sources by December enabling it to provide the jabs to over five crore people, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said on Saturday.
Speaking at Manikganj Maleque said that negotiations are at an advanced level to sign a vaccine agreement with Russia.
He also added that the country will also receive doses of the Moderna vaccine very soon.
Read: Bangladesh to get 2.5 mn doses of Moderna vaccine
The minister also stated that negotiations with the relevant stakeholders to manufacture vaccines in the country are going on in full swing.
Bangladesh may see dreadful Covid peak ahead of Eid, experts warn
Amid the rise in Covid cases triggered by local transmission of the Delta variant, experts predict that Bangladesh may see the peak of the current wave of the deadly virus in the third week of July next.
Using a mathematical model, Bangladesh Como Modelling Group, a panel of local and international health experts, also said the number of daily cases is likely to cross 10,000-mark in mid-July, putting a serious pressure on the country’s healthcare system.
They, however, said the severity of the virus infection and fatality rates during the probable peak on the eve of Eid-ul-Azha will depend on the effectiveness of preventive measures, management of cattle markets and control on public movement.
The experts appreciated the government’s move to isolate Dhaka from other parts of the country by suspending road, rail and waterway communications, saying that it may help slow down the virus transmission.
Prevailing situation
Bangladesh reported 20.27% positivity rate and 1.59% fatality rate on Wednesday, the highest since April 21.
DGHS spokesperson Dr Robed Amin said the Covid-19 situation has worsened in the country as the virus has been spreading fast in bordering and other areas of the country. “The number of cases and deaths are gradually rising."
He said they fear that a terrible situation lies ahead if people do not strictly maintain the health safety rules.
Robed said the virus transmission has been showing a gradual upward trend from June 16 and the death rate is now very high.
He said over 70,000 people were diagnosed with Covid this month due to the outbreak of the virus in the frontier areas.
Also read: Advisory committee suggests complete shutdown in Bangladesh for minimum 14 days
Robed said the Corona situation has deteriorated in Barishal, Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Mymensingh and Rangpur divisions over the last one week.
He said the virus infection has declined in Rajshahi while Sylhet is in a somewhat stable condition. “Khulna division witnessed the highest number of Covid deaths over the last one week.”
The DGHs spokesman said there are many empty beds and ICUs in government and private hospitals in different parts of the country, including Dhaka, but the picture of hospitals in border areas is different as most of them are overwhelmed.
Covid-19: Bangladesh reports 76 more deaths, 4,846 fresh cases
As the Coronavirus situation continues to worsen in Bangladesh creating new hotspots outside capital Dhaka, health authorities logged 4,846 more new cases with a positivity rate of 19.36% in 24 hours until Tuesday morning.
The positivity rate in the country rose to 19.36% from Monday’s 19.27 percent, said a handout of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Besides, the deadly virus claimed the lives of 76 more people during the 24-hour period, bringing the national tally to 13,702.
The fresh cases pushed up the total caseload to 8,61,150, the handout added.
However, the mortality rate remained static at 1.59%.
So far, 788,385 people have recovered from the virus infections with 2903 new ones, taking the recovery rate to 91.55%.
Of the fresh cases, 1,967 were detected in Dhaka, 998 in Khulna and 763 in Rajshahi, divisions, the three regions that showed the highest infections during the 24-hour period.
Of the deceased, 14 were reported from Dhaka, 14 from Rajshahi, 27 from Khulna, 10 from Chattogram, six from Rangpur, two from Barishal and three from Sylhet divisions. No death was reported from Mymensingh division.
Also read: Covid antibody higher among Dhaka slum dwellers: icddr,b
Suspension of bus services
No long-distance bus was allowed to leave or enter capital Dhaka on Tuesday as the government enforced tougher restrictions in an effort to beat the deadly Coronavirus.
The decision to suspend the bus services was taken on Monday night after announcing a strict lockdown in seven adjacent districts of Dhaka to stop the transmission of Coronavirus amid rising infections in different districts, as it is believed to have been caused by Delta variant.
The districts are Narayanganj, Gazipur, Munshiganj, Manikganj, Madaripur, Rajbari and Gopalganj districts.
The movement of long-haul buses on Dhaka-Chattogram highway remained halted as Narayanganj went under lockdown.
The lockdown in the seven districts will remain in force until June 30 midnight.
Suspension of vessel movement
Authorities have suspended the movement of all passenger vessels in Narayanganj, Gazipur, Munshiganj, Manikganj, Madaripur, Rajbari and Gopalganj from Tuesday morning.
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) announced its decision to suspend the movement of launches, speedboats and trawlers on Monday, following the Cabinet Division’s circular on the imposition of lockdown in seven districts.
Also read: Hasina suggests 6 points for framing post-Covid global recovery plan
Vaccine rollout
Bangladesh on Monday started administering the first doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at three centers in Dhaka to fight off Covid-19.
On May 27, the government approved the emergency use of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine in the country.
Bangladesh on Saturday started administering Sinopharm vaccine doses across the country.
The vaccination started in the capital and elsewhere in the country with 11 lakh doses of Sinopharm vaccine gifted by China, said the DGHS.
Bangladesh is now administering the 1st doses of Sinopharm and Pfizer BioNTech vaccine and also the second dose of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
As of now, 5,225 people received the first dose of China’s Sinopharm vaccine, including 1,505 in the past 24 hours.
Of the Astrazeneca vaccine doses, 4,273,325 received the second shot and 5,820,015 the first one so far.
Bangladesh reports alarming 82 Covid deaths, highest in 52 days
As the Covid-19 situation in Bangladesh has taken a turn for the worse again, 82 more people died of coronavirus in 24 hours until Sunday morning.
This is the highest daily death toll in the last 52 days as the country logged 88 deaths on April 29 this year.
During the period, 3,641 more Covid cases were detected after the test of 22,231 samples, said a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
This takes the test positivity rate to 16.38% today from Saturday’s 18.02%.
However, the country's fatality rate remained static at 1.59%.
With the new numbers, the country’s caseload now stood at 851,668 while the death toll at 13,548, said the DGHS handout.
As of now, 782,655 people have recovered from the disease taking the recovery rate to 91.90%.
Also read: Bangladesh to start administering Pfizer vaccine doses Monday
Bangladesh’s recovery rate has been falling for more than a week now.
Of the fatalities, Khulna division reported the highest number of 32 deaths for the second consecutive day while Dhaka division 21, Rajshahi 12, Chattogram nine, Mymensingh four, Sylhet two and Barishal and Rangpur divisions one each.
Pfizer vaccine rollout Monday
Bangladesh’s health workers are gearing up to start administering the first doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in capital Dhaka on Monday with 100,620 doses of vaccine from COVAX facility.
Prof Shamsul Haque, Line Director of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and a member of the Vaccine Distribution Committee, disclosed it in a health briefing on Sunday.
Can you mix and match Covid-19 vaccines?
Can you mix and match two-dose COVID-19 vaccines?
It’s likely safe and effective, but researchers are still gathering data to be sure.
The authorized COVID-19 shots around the world are all designed to stimulate your immune system to produce virus-fighting antibodies, though the way they do so varies, noted Dr. Kate O’Brien, director of the World Health Organization’s vaccine unit.
“Based on the basic principles of how vaccines work, we do think that the mix-and-match regimens are going to work,” she said.
Also read: Why do some people get side effects after COVID-19 vaccines?
Scientists at Oxford University in the United Kingdom are testing combinations of the two-dose COVID-19 vaccines made by AstraZeneca, Moderna, Novavax and Pfizer-BioNTech. Smaller trials are also ongoing in Spain and Germany.
“We really just need to get the evidence in each of these (vaccine) combinations,” O’Brien said.
So far, limited data suggests an AstraZeneca shot followed by the Pfizer shot is safe and effective. The combination also appears to come with a slightly higher likelihood of temporary side effects like aches and chills.
That might be because mixing and matching different types of vaccines can often produce a stronger immune response, said Lawrence Young, a virologist at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom.
Also read: How long does protection from COVID-19 vaccines last?
In some places, health officials already suggest mixing in select circumstances.
After the AstraZeneca vaccine was linked to extremely rare blood clots, many European countries including Germany, France and Spain recommended people who got it as a first dose get a Pfizer or Moderna shot as a second dose instead.
In Britain and Canada, officials say people should aim to get the same vaccine for their second dose if possible. If they got AstraZeneca as their first shot, they’re advised to get another vaccine only if they have a history of blood clots or other conditions that might put them at higher risk of clots.