Country’s doctors, the frontline warriors in the fight against Covid-19, continue to succumb as 18 more physicians tested positive for the deadly virus in the past 26 hours.
Till 7am on Wednesday, a total of 440 doctors have been infected with coronavirus, says an estimate of Bangladesh Doctors’ Foundation (BDF), a platform for local physicians.
There were a total of 422 confirmed cases of doctors having the virus as of 5am on Tuesday, the BDF tally adds.
Apart from doctors, nearly 500 healthcare professionals have already been infected and 16 hospitals have been locked down to stop the spread of the virus, according to media reports.
The majority of the infections are in Dhaka, followed by Narayanganj, Gazipur and Kishoreganj, with most cases being reported from government hospitals.
The curve crossed the grim 400 mark around 9pm on Monday, three days after exceeding the 300 limit.
The first 200 infections among doctors were confirmed on April 21, and the 100th landmark was on April 17.
This upward trend of infections among doctors continues amidst widespread discontent from healthcare professionals regarding the quality and distribution of personal protection equipment (PPE).
Several media reports have also questioned the quality of PPEs provided to medics across the country.
Bangladesh reported the first death of a doctor diagnosed with Covid-19 on April 15.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Zahid Maleque on April 23 urged government employees not to speak to the media without obtaining permission from higher authorities.
As of Wednesday, Bangladesh confirmed 7,103 coronavirus cases with the death toll rising to 163 after eight new fatalities were reported.
The fast-spreading Covid-19 has so far killed 218,000 people in more than 200 countries and territories.