Covid-19 dedicated hospital
1200-bed Covid dedicated hospital to be set up in BSMMU
The government will establish a 1200-bed coronavirus dedicated hospital in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University to fight the soaring virus, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Saturday.
With over 400 ICU beds and more than 400 ICU equivalent HDO’s, this will be the most modern Covid-19 hospital in the country, said Zahid after visiting BSMMU convention centre.
He said this convention centre was chosen for the proposed Covid facility after inspecting buildings across the city following the prime minister’s direction to increase the number of beds in hospitals across the country.
Also read: Country's largest Covid-19 dedicated hospital opened in Dhaka
The government is trying to expedite the opening of the hospital by incorporating the oxygen supply facility as soon as possible, said the minister.
As 80% of the hospital beds across the country are occupied with patients there is no other option left but to increase the number of beds, he said.
Also read: Govt stops corona treatment at 3 dedicated hospitals
In the last 10 days at least 90,000 more people were infected with Covid-19 so more manpower is needed in the health service system too, he added.
BSMMU Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr Sharfuddin Ahmed said, the Covid dedicated hospital will be set up at the fifth floor of the convention hall and it will be named after Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib.
Not possible to increase bed number so often: Minister
It will not be possible to increase the number of beds all too often to accommodate the growing Covid-19 patients, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said on Thursday.
“We’ve managed to tackle 10 times more patients this time as we raised the number of beds from 2,500 to 7,000 in a short period of time, but it’s not possible to do it so frequently,” the minister said.
Zahid Maleque came up with the remark while addressing a virtual discussion arranged on the occasion of National Nutrition Day.
Also read: DNCC Market Hospital to get 200 new ICU beds: Health Minister
To avoid the ‘third’ wave of the Coronavirus pandemic, people of the country must be more conscious, Zahid Maleque.
The second wave of Coronavirus hit the country as people failed to follow the health protocols properly, the minister said, adding: “We must become more aware to escape the third wave of the deadly virus.”
Currently, the second wave of Coronavirus is underway which is much deadlier compared to the first one, Maleque said.
Also read: Covid-19 surge lays bare another crisis: Scant ICU beds and specialists
“Now we must detect the cause behind the emergence of the second wave. We’ve restricted social functions, public gatherings and rallies to contain the virus,” he said.
The infection rate will come down if the restrictions are followed properly for a few days, he hoped.
Covid situation in Bangladesh
Ninety-eight more people died of Covid-19 in 24 hours until Thursday morning amid a sharp rise in the number of deaths from the deadly virus.
Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh sees 98 more deaths, 4,014 new infections
The virus also infected 4,014 others during the period, the Directorate General of Health Services said in a handout.
With the latest figure, the mortality rate remained at 1.46 percent while the infection rate declined to 14.63 percent from Wednesday’s 15.07 percent.
Country's largest Covid-19 dedicated hospital opened in Dhaka
The country’s largest Covid-19 dedicated hospital with 1,000 beds was inaugurated at Dhaka North City Corporation's Mohakhali market on Sunday (April 18, 2021).
Health Minister Zahid Maleque opened the hospital as the chief guest in the morning.
Read DNCC Market Hospital to get 200 new ICU beds: Health Minister
The demand for ICU beds is rising after the second wave of Coronavirus hit the country. He said the Covid-dedicated hospital was completed in 20 days at the directive of the prime minister.
The hospital has 212 ICU beds, 250 beds in high dependency units (HDUs), 438 Covid-19 isolation rooms and 50 emergency beds, the minister said.
Also read: Covid-19 in Bangladesh: Death toll hits another new high of 102