45-year-old man with flu-like symptoms left for dead in Bogura

A 45-year-old-man, suffering from a cold, cough and fever, died allegedly after receiving no treatment in Bogura's Shibganj upazila last night, our Bogura correspondent reports.  

Without even conducting any tests, Bogura Deputy Civil Surgeon Mostafijur Rahman Tuhin claimed that "the man had no coronavirus infection."

Asked about the test, Mostafijur told the Daily Star, "This morning I had a talk with the director of the IEDCR over phone.  I told her the details of the patient. She said that corona patients do not have these symptoms of the common cold and he could have died for another reason.

"However, she suggested us to collect samples from the dead and send those to Dhaka. We will act as she suggested," he said.

Meanwhile, Shibganj Upazila Officer Alamgir Kabi has put into quarantine residents of 10 houses adjacent to the deceased's one.

Alamgir told The Daily Star, "A medical team from Bogura Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital are on the way to the deceased's house. They will collect samples from the dead body.

"However, as we suspected that the patient had died from corona, we locked down 10 houses in the adjoining area.  We also suggested the family members of the dead to stay at home for 14 days," said the UNO.

"My husband lives in Gazipur, where he used to trade mosquito coils, candles, and oral saline. He returned home on Tuesday. Since Wednesday, he started suffering from colds, coughs and fever," said the deceased's wife.

Recounting what she did, she said, "I asked the neighbours for help. I even called the emergency hotline, but no one received the call. I tried many times," she said.

"Earlier, we had called the helpline of Bogura Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital and Mohammad Ali Hospital in Bogura, but no one answered," she alleged.

Officer-in-Charge of Shibganj Police Station Mizanur Rahman said, "The man died at night.  Police have been guarding the dead body since morning, but no medical team has arrived there till now. Please ask the civil surgeon whether they will collect the samples."

 The UNO, however, said people were barring them from burying the dead out of fear of the virus. He said he was going to go there personally and deal with the matter soon.