It is safe to say that, over three months since registering the first case of Covid-19 in the country, Bangladesh remains in the dark on how to contain the spread of this deadly virus. The daily numbers, whether it be infections or deaths, show little sign of respite, and the country is in dire need of a solution.
To that end, numerous experts and studies have repeatedly called for a strict lockdown as the best solution to curb the spread of the virus.
These views were also echoed by Dr Rajiv Chowdhury, an associate professor and the scientific director in Global Health Epidemiology at Cambridge University, UK who in a recently published paper also reiterated the need for strict nationwide lockdowns on an intermittent basis.
Data remains woefully inadequate in Bangladesh -- this has been a major deterrent in being able to roll out the zone-based lockdown strategy that had been earlier proposed effectively.
Moreover, testing in Bangladesh remains far lower than most countries in the world, and there remains no accurate picture of the severity of Covid-19 in the country due to these factors. Without sufficient good data available, this strategy looks less and less likely to be effective.
Policy-makers have rightfully come under the spotlight for various decisions taken during the pandemic period, from the lax shutdown directives to the usage of the term “general holiday” despite the gravity of the situation at hand.
It is about time they listened to the experts and those that present suggestions using science and reasoning. People continue to be dying and getting infected, and if we are to protect lives and livelihoods, we must focus on executing the right strategies.