Within a span of three days, a student of Dhaka University lost his father, who died after being diagnosed with Covid-19, and then his elder brother, who passed away after suffering from coronavirus-like symptoms.

With the agony of losing his father still fresh in his mind, Habibullah Rifat is now heading to his village home in Chandanaish upazila of Chattogram from their house in Halishahar area of the port city to bury his brother who passed away on Friday.

The rest of the family comprising him, his mother, brother and sister are now worried over what future awaits them.

The student of management and information systems went back home from Dhaka after the countrywide shutdown was enforced.

After his father became sick, the youth on May 12 wrote on his Facebook profile about the delay in testing as his father started showing Covid-19 like symptoms.

"I have been going to hospitals one after another since morning. My father's condition requires him to be admitted to a hospital. But no one is admitting him saying that coronavirus test report is necessary prior to ICU admission. But sample will be collected tomorrow morning and it will take some days to get the result," he said in the post.

His father died the next day, and later his sample tested positive for Covid-19. Three days later, tragedy struck the family again.

"Rifat's father died on May 13 with coronavirus symptoms and tested positive posthumously," Rafiqul Islam, office-in-charge of Halishahar Police Station, told The Daily Star yesterday quoting Rifat.

"His brother died yesterday [Friday] night with coronavirus-like symptoms. His sample has been collected for testing," he added.

"We spoke to Rifat several times and arranged an ambulance to carry his brother's body to Chandanish upazila after learning about his financial hardships," said the OC.

Rifat and his other brother were tested negative while his mother and sister are yet to be tested.

Contacted, DU proctor Prof AKM Golam Rabbani said, "I talked with Rifat and the local administration. We are with him. I've already requested the authorities concerned to disinfect their home."