Six months into the pandemic
It has been six months since Bangladesh was struck by the worst disaster of the century by any definition, and it is time to assess if we are heading in the right direction and how we have fared during this rather traumatic period.
Bangladesh is the 14th worst affected country in terms of total caseload, with a total of 329,251 confirmed cases as per the data till September 8. The number of casualties is comparatively low at 4,552, according to DGHS, and there were 36 new deaths in 24 hours till the morning of September 8.
It would appear, given the way the people are going about, that Covid-19 is a past phenomenon, and we are out of the woods. Experts believe otherwise. Presumably, statistics might have something to do with the country assuming the business as usual mode, except for the educational institutions, which remain closed. But statistics can often be misleading, more so when we are dealing with a matter such as Covid-19 where inferring a positive indication based on the daily counts of infected cases and coronavirus related fatalities does not give us the true picture. One has to look beyond the statistics to get the real picture, as per the experts' advice.
We have commented many times on the manner the administration handled the situation since the first cases were reported on March 8. It is not necessary to recount those except to say that the handling of the pandemic should have been much better than what it was. What we are more concerned about today is the direction we are proceeding in.
The lowering number of infections should not give us much comfort, not only because a large number of cases remain undetected and people have given up on the hospitals, but also because the positivity rate, 12.68 percent, is still high compared to the global trend. The World Health Organization recommends achieving a positivity rate lower than five percent for two weeks before going back to the normal routine. But all restrictions have been lifted already.
With the daily number of tests still being very low, the much-needed antigen-based rapid testing has not been launched as of yet. Neither has the government approved the antibody-based rapid testing. Considering the very large number of people not tested for the virus, rapid testing is essential to identify and isolate the infected. And that is the only way to contain the outbreak and eventually snub the virus.
At the risk of sounding bleak, the worst is not quite over. Warning from the experts that Bangladesh is now heading towards an unpredictable destination may well come true unless the past mistakes of procrastination, poor coordination and lack of control are not corrected.
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