Covid-19 bd
Dismissing all concerns, Razzaque takes mantle of speaking for health sector
Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque on Friday said the health sector won’t face any fund crisis to tackling the Covid-19 situation.
“Fund will be given to the health sector whenever the money is required,” he said at a virtual post-budget press conference.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal also addressed the press conference, arranged a day after he placed the proposed budget for 2021-22 fiscal in Parliament.
Dr Razzaque said the Finance Ministry also repeatedly assured that "money won’t be a problem," or "allocation won’t matter to face the corona."
He said the Prime Minister repeatedly advocated a balance between lives and livelihoods - the cardinal choice for policymakers in the pandemic era. Some on the left however, point to at least the possibility that this is a false dichotomy. Not Dr Razzaque though.
Also read: New budget unveiled with focus on protecting lives and livelihoods
"If the livelihood is not taken care of, many people will be severely affected or even die (without catching Covid)," he added.
The Agriculture Minister said the country’s economy is now vibrant and on a strong footing amid the growing reserves of foreign currency.
“The way the whole world is facing it (Covid-19), I think this government will also face it in that way. Money will not be a problem for it,” he said.
About the budgetary allocation for the health sector, Senior Secretary of Finance Division Abdur Rouf Talukder also said some Tk 14,200 crore has been kept in the proposed budget for procuring Covid vaccines during the upcoming fiscal year.
“We’ll provide the fund, if the health sector needs more money,” he said.
Also read: New budget: Tracking prices going up and down
The Finance Secretary said the budgetary allocation for the Health Services Division has increased by 13.2 percent for the upcoming fiscal year, compared to the outgoing fiscal year. But the overall budget size has risen by 6.3 percent. “So, the growth in the allocation for the health sector is more than double,” he said.
Replying to a question over the inability to spend more money on the health sector, Abdur Rouf said the government identified two problems – lack of capacity among the officials engaged in procurement, and mismatch between demand and supply during procurement.
He said the government will address the two problems in the upcoming fiscal year as it is going to take measures to provide training for the officials.
Planning Minister MA Mannan, PM’s Economic Affair Adviser Dr Mashiur Rahman, Bangladesh Bank Governor Fazle Kabir, and National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem, among others, spoke at the conference.
Bangladesh records 34 more Covid deaths; positivity rate crosses 10%
As the administration of the first dose of the vaccine remains suspended in Bangladesh since April 26, the country continues to battle Covid-19, logging 1,887 new cases after testing 18,151 samples until Friday morning.
The new number took the country's caseload to 807,867. Also, the daily infection rate rose to 10.40% from Thursday's 9.94% while the mortality rate remained static at 1.58%, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Meanwhile, the country confirmed 34 more deaths during the same period, raising the total number of fatalities to 12,758.
Dhaka division saw the highest fatalities during the period with the death of nine people while Chattogram witnessed six deaths, Rajshahi, Khulna, and Rangpur five each, Sylhet three and Barishal one.
READ: Covid-19: Govt to vaccinate 25 lakh people each month
However, 747,758 patients have recovered so far since the country reported its first Covid cases on March 8 last year and the first death on the 18th of that month.
Correlation between death rate, cases observed
To get an accurate measure of death rate, the number of infected people should be used as the denominator and the deceased as the numerator – both of which occurred and ended within a specified time, Dr AM Zakir Hussain, former director of the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research, told UNB.
"But for a disease like Covid-19, which still rages on, the rate should be considered in reference to a specific and relevant time. A recent assessment showed that the highest number of deaths occurred 14 days after the highest number of Covid-19 cases – a situation that still prevails in Bangladesh and India. So, the current method for estimating death rate is not accurate," he said.
What’s test positivity?
The Covid-19 positivity rate indicates, among other things, the number of people showing clinical features of the disease or the percentage of individuals suffering from the disease. Such estimation has two errors, Dr Zakir said.
READ: Covid-19: Bangladesh logs 30 more deaths, 1,687 new infections
"One, an RT-PCR test, based on the present method of sample collection, misses about one-third of the actual cases. Two, when more than 20 cycles of diagnostic procedures are repeated even a single virus in a sample would show a positive result, which, however, will not indicate that the person who gave the sample will transmit the infection to others or that they will come down with the disease. An RT-PCR test shows positive results even when the virus is dead," he added.
Lockdown in districts
Due to the recent rise in Covid infections in frontier districts, district administrations have imposed lockdowns in Rajshahi, Khulna, Satkhira and parts of Naogaon districts to curb the transmission of the virus.
The district administrations have been given the authority to enforce lockdowns in their areas if the Covid-19 situation worsens.
Covid-19: Strict restrictions imposed in Rajshahi, parts of Khulna, Naogaon
The local administration of some of the border districts have imposed strict restrictions for seven days to check the transmission of the Indian variant of coronavirus.
The decisions were taken after separate meetings as the government allowed the local administrations to impose lockdown if the situation worsens in their areas.
Rajshahi Deputy Commissioner Abdul Jalil announced the restrictions on Wednesday afternoon.
According to the fresh restrictions, none will be allowed to leave their houses from 7 pm to 8 am without any emergency reason in Rajshahi until June 9.
All business establishments and vehicular movement will remain shut during the time except those providing emergency services. However restaurants and traders can provide services online.
However, mango farmers and traders will carry on their business on a limited scale maintaining social distance.
Also read: Naogaon municipality, Niamatpur upazila put under one week lockdown
Similar restrictions have also been imposed in Rupsha Upazila, Khulna Sadar, Sonadanga and Khalishpur upazilas of Khulna for a week which will start from June 4.
Khulna Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Helal Hossain came up with the decision after a meeting with the district coronavirus prevention committee on Wednesday morning in presence of Khulna City Corporation Mayor Talukder Abdul Khaleq.
All shops except pharmacies in those places will remain closed for a week from June 4.
Mobile courts and police were instructed to take necessary steps to ensure people maintain the health guidelines.
The city mayor said no gathering would be allowed after evening.
He also instructed all to maintain social distance and use masks.
Also read: Lockdown extended in Rohingya camps, Teknaf upazila
Besides, Naogaon municipality, Niamatpur upazila have been put under lockdown for a week.
University students to be vaccinated for reopening dorms: UGC
The University Grants Commission (UGC) on Tuesday decided to vaccinate university students as soon as possible so that their dormitories could be reopened.
The decision was taken at a virtual meeting chaired by Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni. The vice-chancellors of public universities and officials of the Education Ministry and UGC took part in the meeting.
As per the instructions of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, all the university students would be vaccinated on priority basis starting with residential ones.
Also read: Bangladesh sees rise in Covid infections; 41 more die
The meeting decided to permit all the public and private universities to conduct online and direct examinations at their respective university campuses.
The academic councils of the respective universities would take the final decisions regarding the online and direct examinations following the UGC instructions.
Also read: Take exams but don’t reopen halls: UGC
Dorms will be reopened making it sure that all the students are vaccinated and the academic activities of the universities are run regularly, said a UGC media release.
The universities were asked to prepare a Recovery Plan according to their capacity and the social reality so that the damage caused to the students during the pandemic could be minimised, the release added.
Lockdown extended in Rohingya camps, Teknaf upazila
The local administration on Tuesday extended the ongoing lockdown in Teknaf upazila and five Rohingya camps in Ukhiya and Teknaf upazila of Cox’s Bazar district in an effort to break the chain of Covid-19 transmission.
The existing lockdown will remain in force till June 6, officials here said.
Also read: Bangladesh sees rise in Covid infections; 41 more die
All the activities inside the Rohingya camps, apart from food and medicine supply, will remain suspended during the lockdown.
Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas both in Cox’s Bazar district and Bhasan Char.
Also read: Strict lockdown imposed in Teknaf and five Rohingya camps
Authorities on May 21 enforced a week-long lockdown at five Rohingya refugee camps in Teknaf and Ukhiya upazilas in Cox’s Bazar following a recent spike in Covid-19 infections in the district.
At the same time, the government also announced a 10-day lockdown in Teknaf upazila to curb the spread of the deadly virus.
Bangladesh loses 31 more lives to Covid-19
Covid-19 claimed 31 more Covid deaths, including 10 each in Dhaka and Chattogram divisions, in the past 24 hours till Friday morning, pushing up the country's fatalities to 12,511.
Also, 1,358 people came out positive in 14,606 tests carried out during the same period, taking the country's caseload to 796,343.
The daily positivity rate rose to 9.30% from Thursday's 8.12%, said the Directorate General of Health Services.
Read: COVID-19: Bangladesh to receive over 1 lakh Pfizer vaccine on Sunday
The fatality rate remained static at 1.57% and the recovery rate stood at 92.45%.
The country has carried out 5,901,874 sample tests so far after reporting its first cases on March 8 last year and the first death on the 18th of the month.
Vaccination drive
The administration of the first doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has remained suspended in Bangladesh since April 26.
Also, the country, the prime recipient of Oxford-AstraZeneca shots, has suspended the registration for Covid-19 jabs due to vaccine shortage amid a delay in the timely arrival of shipments from India.
However, recently two other vaccines, Russia's Sputnik V and China's Sinopharm, got approval from the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) for emergency use in Bangladesh.
Read:Cabinet body okays proposal to procure 1.5 crore Chinese Sinopharm vaccine
The administering of the first doses of the Sinopharm vaccine started Tuesday.
Bangladesh launched its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses bought from India's Serum Institute.
Bangladesh to receive 1 lakh-plus Pfizer vaccine Sunday
A flight of Qatar Airlines carrying a consignment of 100,620 doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine will arrive in Bangladesh Sunday.
On Thursday, Bangladesh approved the emergency use of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.
Cabinet body okays procurement of 1.5 crore Sinopharm vaccine
The Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase Thursday gave final approval to a proposal of the health ministry to procure 1.5 crore Chinese Sinofarm Covid-19 vaccine.
As per the approval, the Health Services Division will procure a 1.5 crore vaccine in the next three months – June, July and August.
Read: Bangladesh approves emergency use of Pfizer vaccine
"Each month 5 million doses of vaccine will be imported from the Chinese firm," Dr Shahida Aktar, additional secretary to the Cabinet Division, told reporters.
Covid vaccination to get priority in budget FY22
A massive vaccination of the population for protection against Covid-19 infection will be the major focus of the Tk602,880 crore budget of the fiscal year 2021-2022. There will be a Tk10,000 crore special allocation for facing the impacts of Covid-19.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal will place the budget in Parliament on June 3.
'Bangladesh to see worst Covid outbreak by June-end'
With Covid cases keep soaring in frontier districts apparently because of the highly contagious Indian variant, experts fear that Bangladesh may face the worst outbreak of Covid-19 at the end of June next.
They said if the Indian variant can make its way into other areas from the bordering districts, Bangladesh is likely to witness more than 20,000 daily cases in early July, raising the fatality rate sharply.
Read: Bangladesh braces for worst Covid outbreak by June-end: Experts
Lack of necessary oxygen supply and other healthcare facilities may aggravate the situation, according to the experts.
They suggested putting the frontier districts, particularly where the virus infection rate has already gone up, under strict lockdowns like Chapainawabganj and halting inter-district public transport services to contain the virus locally.
Bangladesh approves emergency use of Pfizer vaccine
The government of Bangladesh has approved the emergency use of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine in the country.
Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) issued a press release in this regard on Thursday.
This is the fourth Covid-19 vaccine approved for emergency use in Bangladesh.
Recently two other vaccines , Sputnik V produced by Generium Joint Stock Company of Russia, and Sinopharm produced by Beijing Institute of Biological Products Co. Ltd of China got approval of DGDA for emergency use in Bangladesh.
Earlier on January 7, DGDA approved the emergency use of Covishield vaccine, also known as SARS Cov-2 AZD1222, Oxford/ Astra zeneca vaccine, produced by Serum Institute of India.
Earlier on May 18, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said that the country will get at least 106,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine under the Covax facility.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was the first coronavirus jab to show promising results in the latter stages of its testing process.
It is a new type called an mRNA vaccine that uses a tiny fragment of genetic code from the pandemic virus to teach the body how to fight Covid-19 and build immunity, according to a BBC report.
The US Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized storage of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine at standard refrigerator temperatures for up to one month, in an effort to make the vaccine more widely available.
Bangladesh records lowest Covid deaths in over two months
Bangladesh logged 17 more Covid-related deaths in 24 hours until Wednesday morning, the lowest number in 68 days.
The country saw 16 Covid-19 deaths on March 18 last.
Besides, 1,497 new cases were recorded taking the total caseload to 7,93,693, said a handout of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The Covid-19 positivity rate declined to 9.11 percent from Tuesday’s 10.08 percent while the mortality rate remained static at 1.57 percent, the handout said.
Health authorities recorded the new cases after testing 16,434 samples in the last 24 hours.
With 1,056 recoveries in the past 24 hours, the country's recovery rate now stands at 92.46.
As of now, 7,33,866 people have recovered from the disease.
Eight of the 17 deaths recorded today are from Chattogram and five are from Dhaka divisions.
Also read: Bangladesh braces for worst Covid outbreak by June-end: Experts
One each died in Khulna, Barishal, Mymensingh and Sylhet divisions.
The country so far carried out 58,71,353 sample tests since reporting its first coronavirus cases on March 8 last year and the first death on March 18, 2020.
Bangladesh begins administering 1st dose of Chinese vaccine
Bangladesh on Tuesday began administering the first dose of Chinese Sinopharm vaccine, marking a major turning point in its fight against Covid-19 pandemic.
Health Minister Zahid Maleque inaugurated the inoculation programme at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.
On May 12, Bangladesh received 5 lakh China’s Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine doses, donated by the Chinese government.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic last year, China and Bangladesh have been supporting and assisting each other in their fight against the pandemic.
China has donated and is donating vaccine doses to 80 developing countries with urgent needs, and has provided support under COVAX for the emergency use of vaccines in developing countries.
Also read: Process to procure vaccine from China at final stage: FM
China has fulfilled its commitment to make the Covid-19 vaccine a global public good with practical actions, promoted the fair distribution of global vaccines and made China’s contribution to the realisation of vaccine accessibility and affordability in developing countries.
China says it will continue to make joint efforts with Bangladesh to make positive contributions to Bangladesh’s endeavour of protecting human lives and fight to win the battle against the pandemic, and together to build an even closer community of shared future and health for mankind.
Australia to provide A$5 million to help Bangladesh in Covid-19 combat
Australia has announced an additional fund of A$5 million or Tk 330 million t to support Bangladesh’s COVID-19 preparedness and response, the country’s envoy said on Saturday.
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne has made the announcement, according to Australian High Commission in Dhaka Jeremy Bruer.
This fund will be given through the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to procure and distribute essential supplies, including oxygen and related equipment, to help communities withstand the health and social impact of the pandemic, said the high commissioner.
The money is in addition to the A$5.7 million Australia provided last year to Bangladesh for personal protective equipment, COVID-19 awareness campaigns, and emergency food and income support.
Australia said it is also working to increase the global supply of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, including through an A$80 million commitment to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment, of which Bangladesh is a beneficiary.
High Commissioner Jeremy Bruer said, "As one of Bangladesh's oldest friends, Australia is committed to supporting Bangladesh in its fight against COVID-19, to help ensure our shared region remains safe, stable, prosperous and resilient. Australia and our partners stand with Bangladesh in responding to the pandemic.”