The border districts of Bangladesh have adequate oxygen in their stock to provide to Covid-19 patients, DGHS spokesperson Dr Nazmul Islam said on Wednesday.
"Although the Covid-19 infection rate in frontier districts is much higher than the rest of the country, there's no need to panic, as hospitals have adequate medical supplies alongside oxygen in their stocks," he said.
About 1,569 high-flow nasal cannulas and 1,469 oxygen concentrators have been provided across the country, he said. "We also have more than 23,000 oxygen cylinders."
Nazmul Islam, however, added: "Everyone should follow health guidelines as Covid-19 infection rate is on the rise again."
According to the initial plan, he said, the Pfizer vaccine will be administered in Dhaka only. This vaccine will be given on a priority basis to those who have registered to get vaccinated.
If the students are there on the list, they will also be given priority, he said, adding: "The date on which the Pfizer vaccination program will begin has not yet been fixed."
Covid-19 situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh recorded 1,988 new Covid-19 cases, the highest in a day in over a month, and 34 more deaths in the 24 hours between 8am Tuesday and 8am Wednesday.
As many as 20,259 samples were tested at 509 authorized labs across the country, yielding a positivity rate of 9.81%.
Meanwhile, the overall Covid-19 infection rate stood at 13.44%, based on results of 5,986,022 tests conducted nationwide so far.
The DGHS statistics showed that of the total people infected since March last year, 92.51% have recovered and 1.58% died.
Among the deceased, 11 died in Dhaka division while five each in Khulna, Chittagong and Rajshahi divisions, 3 each in Sylhet and Rangpur and one in Barisal division.
Lockdown in districts
District administrations have been given the authority to enforce lockdowns in their areas if the Covid-19 situation deteriorates there.
The government has already given such an instruction to local administrations, said Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam at a press briefing after a virtual Cabinet meeting held with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.