Extensive testing has been one of the crucial measures to limit coronavirus infection since the outbreak started.
As Bangladesh’s health authorities are still gradually increasing the number of tests per day, experts think at least 10,000 Covid-19 tests should be conducted every day to get the real picture of the coronavirus situation in the country.
Talking to Dhaka Tribune, virologist Dr Nazrul Islam of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) has said that testing as many suspected samples as possible would help find Covid-19 cases and map out strategies to keep the pandemic under control in Bangladesh.
He said: “Considering the country’s healthcare facilities and resources, at least 10,000 tests need to be conducted every day.”
He said testing more samples outside Dhaka division is of paramount importance as most cases have been detected there and it is crucial to get data from other areas of the country to determine the nationwide situation.
Until Sunday, Bangladesh conducted a total of 122,657 Covid-19 tests.
As per data provided by the health services directorate, 5,642 samples were collected and total 5,738 were tested in 35 laboratories across the country between Saturday and Sunday afternoon.
Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Sunday said that 16 more testing labs would be set up soon around the country.
It will be possible to increase the number of tests to 8,000-10,000 per day when these 16 new testing labs are added in the roster, he said while addressing the inauguration program of Holy Family Red Crescent Medical College Hospital’s 500-bed for Covid-19 treatment in Dhaka city.
In the beginning, there was only one testing lab and that has been increased to 36 where more than 5,000 samples are being tested every day, he said, adding that a testing lab will be set up in this hospital too.
The United States — which has recorded the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the world — conducted over 8,918,300 tests until Sunday.
Italy, another country hit hard by the pandemic, carried out over 2,514,200 tests till Sunday.
Neighbouring India conducted more than 1,609,000 tests as of Sunday, while Pakistan carried out over 283,500 tests, according to reference website worldometer which provides real time statistics on the Covid-19 pandemic.
Getting a true picture
BSMMU’s Dr Nazrul Islam said that South Korea has set an excellent example by testing thousands of people every day, which will eventually flatten the curve there.
South Korea conducted nearly 663,900 tests till Sunday, managing to keep the number of fatalities to 256 and confirmed cases to 10,874, against a population of around 51.64 million.
Getting a true picture of the numbers of infected with more testing would allow identifying their location and subsequent contact tracing, in order to initiate isolation and quarantine measures that would result in flattening the curve.
Notably, however, more testing requires more skilled health workers for sample collection.
Dr Nazrul warned that having loads of testing kits in stock would mean nothing if the kits are in unskilled hands.
“Test kits will be wasted if the health workers fail to collect samples in the right way from suspected Covid-19 patients. Moreover, unskilled health workers themselves will also be at high risk if they are assigned to collect samples,” he said.
The Health Ministry’s Additional Secretary Habibur Rahman Khan told Dhaka Tribune that it would be best if Bangladesh could do twice as many tests as it does now.
“It is difficult to estimate the exact number of tests that should be carried out every day. However, I think if we can do twice as many tests than what is being carried out now, we will be able to identify more patients,” he said.
Habibur, however, commented that comparing Bangladesh’s testing capacity with other developed countries does not make any sense.
“Bangladesh has a huge population and it is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. On top of that, the ratio of health workers and patients here is also an issue,” he added.
Dr Nazrul and Habibur both agreed that a massive campaign should be launched to build more awareness among the citizens.
Many people in this country are not aware of respiratory hygiene and therefore it is more challenging for Bangladesh to control the spread of the novel coronavirus, said Dr Nazrul.
“Even if the curve goes flat, people all over the world must take precautions based on suggestions of health experts until any cure or vaccine is found,” he said.