Coronavirus: With 2.57%, Bangladesh has one of the lowest recovery rates

The percentage of patients recovering from coronavirus infection in Bangladesh currently stands at just 2.57%, lowest among both South Asian countries and nations which were hit the hardest by the pandemic.

In between March 8 and April 21, only 87 people or merely 2.57% of the patients recovered from the infection against the number of total 3,382 infected.

In last 24 hours till Tuesday, data compiled by the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) showed only two people had recovered from the infection.

Compared to South Asian nations, India recorded more than 3,273 recoveries out of 18,985 cases – a 17.24% recovery rate, while Pakistan has more than 2,073 recoveries out of 9,565 cases – a 21.67% recovery rate, according to Worldometer, a website that provides counters and real-time statistics for diverse topics.

As of filing the report till 11pm Tuesday, the global recovery rate was nearly at 27%.

China, which reported the first case of Covid-19 in late December, saw a 93% recovery rate with 77,123 recoveries out of 82,758 cases, while Italy, a country hit-hard by Covid-19 saw over 28% recovery rate with 51,600 recoveries against 183,957 infections reported.

What do experts say?

Healthcare professionals said the lower testing rate was the major reason behind lower recovery rate.

As the testing had been increased gradually, although only recently, the recovery rate will also gradually see a surge in days ahead, they said.

Bangladesh Health Rights Movement chairman Professor Rashid E Mahbub told the Dhaka Tribune that the limited scale of diagnosis in the initial level helped the government find only the critical cases, and it is one of the reasons behind low recovery rate.

“In some countries, authorities could detect a large number of mild or premature affected samples as more tests were conducted, however, Bangladesh only tested severe patients because of inadequate kits resulting in the lower recovery rate,” Mahbub, also the former president of Bangladesh Medical Association, pointed out.

The collection of samples from suspected carriers was as low as 100 in the first week, after the first case was reported in Bangladesh. On Week 2, the number was 204 and in Week 3, the number stood at 574, still lower than 100 samples per day on an average. 

It was only after April that testing was ramped up, with 3,128 samples collected and 2,974 samples tested on Tuesday.

What does the DGHS say?

Prof Dr Nasima Sultana, additional director general at the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), told the Dhaka Tribune on Sunday evening that a recovery number remained fixed after a two-term 14- days quarantine, which means a Covid-19 positive patient needs at least 28 days to be declared as a recovered case.

“So far, Bangladesh recorded its first Covid-19 case on March 8, so we have to wait for some more time to get a satisfactory recovery rate,” she said.

Global recoveries at a glance

South Asian countries

Source: Worldometer