A little foresight, a little innovation
Some 2,500-3,000 people visit the capital's Central Police Hospital every day, and with that comes the risk of Covid-19 transmission. To prevent the spread, hospital authorities have deployed additional police officers to work alongside hospital staff to spray visitors with disinfectants.
As the situation started deteriorating, authorities had to deploy more officers for the job. Unfortunately, officers often find it hard to properly spray visitors when a group enters together, according to hospital authorities.
That is when an officer came forward to solve the issue. After taking inspiration from a surprising source, he was set in his tracks to make the process more efficient than ever.
"After watching a YouTube video on a disinfection tunnel in Turkey, I started making a similar structure in front of the hospital gate last week," Saif Shantu, additional superintendent of police (admin) of Central Police Hospital, told The Daily Star yesterday.
He knew going at this alone would not work, so he sought help from the plumber, mason and carpenters who were working in the hospital. He then went on to collect some wood, nozzles and pipes to build the structure, he said.
After discussing with hospital doctors about the proper disinfection spray, he collected virucide solutions from the market.
"We attached a 500-litre tank and motor to the gate and were successfully able to complete the task last Saturday. The gate is servicing everyone from last Sunday," said the additional superintendent, while sharing his experience with the newspaper.
Asked about the expense, Saif said it costed around Tk 10,000-12,000 to make the whole gate.
"We need to refill the tank every day, but thanks to technology, it's capable of completely disinfecting people," Saif said. "We only need to spend Tk 300-500 for a batch of solution, and the whole thing is saving a lot of time too."
Saif joined police in 2008 through the 27th Bangladesh Civil Service exam.
Presently, an officer is manually operating the gate, and they need to press a button to start the motor. But Saif is working to install a sensor so that the machinery automatically sprays anyone passing through.
The coronavirus has stopped all global activities, but with this little endeavour of his, Saif plans to bring some normalcy back into everyone's life.
"I don't want to see all activities stopping for lack of proper disinfection. We want to continue our work during the coronavirus pandemic and be role models for everyone around the world," he added.
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