‘Govt inadequacy put countrymen at risk of coronavirus’
Physicians and public health experts yesterday said the government's inadequate measures have put many countrymen at risk of getting infected by Covid-19, amid its global outbreak.
At a press conference, they blamed the government for limiting testing facilities to one institution, saying more testing facilities were required to avoid the disease's spread.
Doctors for Health and Environment (DHEn) organised the press conference on "Covid-19 is now in Bangladesh too: Want safety of people, doctor and healthcare service providers" at Dhaka Reporters' Unity.
Amid confirmed cases of the viral infection in Bangladesh, providing protection to doctors, nurses and other healthcare service providers was equally important to tackle the situation but the government was yet to take effective measure to this end, they added.
Addressing the press conference, former vice-chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Prof Nazrul Islam raised questions over the government's quarantine measure for homebound expatriates.
The decision to send expatriates to "home quarantine" was unwise, he said.
Prof Nazrul said local administration was instructed to monitor whether the expats were following instructions.
"In practice, who will reach food to the expat? Does that person have personal protection equipment?" he questioned, adding that keeping expats under one roof would have been a better decision.
Instead of conducting tests in one laboratory, the government can facilitate doing it in four to five other labs in the capital, labs in other big cities and some private hospitals, he also said.
He stressed for incorporating health experts from various sections in the government committees to tackle the situation.
Reading out a written statement, DHEn Joint General Secretary MH Faruqui said beside the government's Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) has capacity to conduct Covid-19 test.
But, the government did not allow icddr,b to do it. As a result, people's suffering was escalated, and questions were raised over the number of infection, he said.
In a 10-point proposal placed before the government, Faruqui said the government should provide sufficient testing kits and ensure intensive testing facilities in suspected areas by preparing a list of expats returning from Covid-19-hit countries.
Quarantine of expats should have started earlier but the government looked for them only after first reported cases on March 8, said the organisation's Environmental Affairs Advisor MH Chowdhury Lenin.
He suggested that the government should instruct offices capable of running activities online to do so to avoiding spread of the virus.
Chairing the event, DHEn President Prof M Abu Sayeed said if doctors get infected by the novel coronavirus, it would spread the disease among patients.
So, doctors' protection is a priority, he said.
The government's inadequate measure reflected that it has overlooked people's health rights, said Faizul Hakim Lala, convener of Jonoshasthya Sangram Parishad.
Physicians Prof Shakil Akhter and Prof Harun-ur-Rashid, among others, spoke at the press conference.
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