Health minister Zahid Maleque has expressed disappointments with doubts surrounding the official figures of the number of people infected by coronavirus in the country.
“Would we be happy if the number of infected people was greater?” he retorted, when asked about the distrust of official figures by the general public.
“Many are asking why the numbers are so low. Why? Would we be happy if they were higher? Should many people die? We should want the number of people who get infected or die to remain low. This is the important thing,” he said.
He made these remarks in a daily online video press briefing of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) on Saturday.
He also quashed rumours about him being infected by the virus. The rumours stemmed from the fact that he was not seen in public for a few days.
“I am not infected with Coronavirus (Covid-19). I have tested,” said the minister.
Asked if anybody from the health ministry got infected by the virus, he said it was not impossible that someone might be infected, as the ministry is big and many outsiders visit it.
300,000 PPEs distributed in hospitals
The minister said the government has already distributed around 300,000 personal protective equipment (PPE) to various hospitals across the country amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Some 500,000 more PPEs have been ordered from abroad, which will enter the country by April.
The minister also said the country now has 45,000 Covid-19 testing kits in stock and more will be imported soon.
“We have inspected a few testing labs and a few more labs are going to run within 3 to 4 days. These are IEDCR, IPH (Institute Of Public Health), Dhaka Shishu Hospital, Dhaka CMH, Chittagong, and Cox’s Bazar. We have received no patient samples since the start of the lab in Cox’s Bazar. In Chittagong, no one came for tests in the last few days,” he said.
Saying the government began preparations for coronavirus in January this year, Zahid also said 3,000 hospital beds were readied in Dhaka division and all major medical colleges across the country have been asked to open “corona corners” in their facilities.
The minister also added that 250 ventilators have already reached the country while 350 more ventilators were being imported.
Currently, the existing 500 ventilators are yet to be installed in all government hospitals. The private sector has 700 ventilators, he added.
On Sunday, IEDCR reported no new death in the last 24 hours, while 15 people have been released after recovering from the virus infection.
At present, 28 individuals are undergoing treatment for the virus infection at hospitals.
Meanwhile, as many as 109 samples were tested in the last 24 hours and no positive cases were found.
Bangladesh has so far confirmed five deaths and 48 infections from Covid-19, which according to worldometer has infected 684,641 people and claimed 32,180 lives as of on Sunday.
As many as 146,400 infected people have also recovered across the world.
BPO transporting PPE
Bangladesh Post Office (BPO) has started transporting personal protective equipment (PPE), test kits, and awareness leaflets to civil surgeon offices across the country from the Central Medical Stores Depot at no charge.
BPO took the initiative based on Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar’s directive on Saturday in the wake of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic in the country, said a ministry press release on Sunday.
The minister also directed the BPO director general to monitor the delivery service, reports BSS.
BPO is transporting the emergency medical equipment to civil surgeon offices of 64 districts on 60 covered vans. BPO’s inspectors are in charge of handing over the equipment.
Meanwhile, in line with government directives, the Posts and Telecommunications Division is working relentlessly to ensure uninterrupted mobile phone connection and internet services across the country during this unprecedented crisis.
Mustafa Jabbar instructed BTCL, Teletalk, and other mobile and internet operators to meet the growing demand of people at this moment.
