Danger remains despite deadliest July ends

The health experts have warned that the COVID-19 situation is not improving soon though the country marked the end of its deadliest month since the pandemic broke out in the country in March last year.

The worsening situation of coronavirus is yet to improve as experts fear that the infection may worsen more in mid-August.

The government have already eased several restrictions, including reopening all export-oriented factories, amid the ongoing strict lockdown.

Mad rushes of garment workers and concerned people across the country were seen in all the entrance points of the capital since Saturday morning following the announcement of reopening export-oriented factories by the government.

Besides, the government also allowed the public transports and launches to operate from last night to facilitate the garment workers’ return to their destination amid the nationwide strict lockdown.

In such a situation, the experts warned that this sudden move by the government will definitely increase the coronavirus cases and gradually broke the country’s health system.

Bangladesh registered 218 more fatalities due to the coronavirus in a span of the last 24 hours till Saturday 8:00 am, taking the total death toll to 20,685. Fatalities have crossed the grim 200-mark since July 25.

The country took eight and a half months to register 6,000 coronavirus deaths while in July alone Bangladesh reported 6,182 fatalities, as per the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) data.

In addition, a total of 336,226 coronavirus cases were recorded in July alone while the country logged its first 350,000 cases for over six months.

According to the health officials, the ‘delta’ variant of the virus which was first found in India, is responsible for the worst surge of the virus across the country.

In such a worsening situation, the government allowed to reopen all export-oriented industries and factories, including the readymade garment sector, following the pressure from the business leaders.

However, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) recommended extending the ongoing nationwide strict lockdown for at least 10 days.

In this regard, Director General of DGHS ABM Khurshid Alam, said, “We asked the government to extend the ongoing strict lockdown. But the government allowed the factories to reopen. Infections will definitely rise due to the move by the government.”

Around 80 percent of beds in the Covid-dedicated hospitals across the country have already been occupied. Major hospitals in the capital have stopped admitting patients due to bed crises. In such a situation, we will not be able to accommodate new patients if the infections increase, he added.

According to government-provided data, on average around 12,000 patients are detected every day. The positivity rate also surged and is above 30 percent.

Professor Nazrul Islam, also a member of the National Technical Advisory Committee on COVID-19, said that the crisis was likely to deepen as the government have decided to reopen the factories amid the strict lockdown.

He blamed public movement, cattle markets and eased lockdown ahead of Eid for the increased number of deaths in July.

Meanwhile, the new cases of coronavirus increased in the last week in Dhaka and its adjacent districts, including Gazipur, Manikganj, Narayanganj and Munshiganj.

The health experts urged everyone to follow health guidelines strictly and to wear face masks. Public movement have to be reduced across the country. Otherwise, the situation will worsen more in the upcoming days.