While the government’s decision to reopen shopping malls and garment factories has been stirring debate for the last couple of days, experts have suggested some ways to avoid coronavirus transmission as much as possible within the relaxed lockdown measures.
According to infectious disease specialist Farhad Uddin Hasan Chowdhury Maruf of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), there should be specific written directions from the government about social distancing in crowded places.
“We maintain social distancing at our place and workstation, but maintaining social distancing in shopping malls and garment factories is way more different than that,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
As of Tuesday, the number ofconfirmed coronavirus cases stood at nearly11,000 and the number of fatalities at 183 in Bangladesh.
Given the population density, city planning and healthcare capacity in Bangladesh,the suppression method is the best way to control coronavirus infection in Bangladesh, according to experts.
However, considering the economic fallout, experts think social distancing and following respiratory hygiene guidelines in places which are going to reopen could slow down the spread of Covid-19.
Farhad suggested that garment factories could run in three shifts - morning, evening and night - to avoid crowding.
He said that the garment factory authorities can divide the employees in different groups in each shift and select a different entry time for each group.
“If one group joins work at 7am, another group can join work at7:15am. Factories and roads will remain less crowded in this way,” he said.
He added that it is the responsibility of the garment factory owners to ensure masks for the employees and provide hand sanitizers and hand soaps in the factories.
On Monday, the government decided to allow shops and malls to remain open till 4pm from May 10,while maintaining health guidelines, considering Ramadan and Eid-ul-Fitr.
If shoppers have to go the mall, they need to drop their old habit of touching and inspecting every product before buying.
“Shoppers need to refrain from touching any clothes or other products if they have to go to the malls,” Farhad added.
Shopping mall authorities could make some arrangements like measuring temperature of the shop-goers with infrared thermometer at the entrance, providing copious amounts of hand sanitizers and hand-washing facilities inside the mall and so on, he said.
The purpose of lockdown as explained by a new study from the Imperial College London’s Covid-19 Response Team is to reduce reproduction – in other words, to reduce the number of confirmed cases.
People reluctant to stay home
Anindya Kishore Debnath, who teaches Urban and Regional Planning at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet), said the government has done one good thing and that is shutting down the offices, educational institutions, and domestic passenger transportation all over the country.
However, he said, despite the administration trying enough to keep people home, they are reluctant to stay inside.
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“They have a leeway in coming up with the excuse of meeting emergency necessities like grocery and medicine. But the hard truth is that we cannot contain the spread unless we stay inside all together,” he said.
“We probably need to trickle down our initiatives at the local level coupled with a stringent lockdown in place. We are way past the time of making people understand that they are not immortal to this deadly infection,”Anindya added.
He said only essential businesses remain open and those organizations should provide pick up-drop off transport facilities, while disinfecting the vehicles after every use.
Vehicles sitting in different offices can be used if required, he also said.
People unaware of consequences
Dipita Hossain, assistant professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the Buet, said the main purpose of lockdown is to restrict movement of people in order to reduce the rate of infection and reduce pressure on the health service system.
“Both are crucial for Bangladesh as we have an overwhelming density of population and a large section of which is still unaware of the gravity of the situation. On top of that, the number of healthcare workers and facilities are not enough against a population of this size,” she said.
She thinks it is extremely challenging to impose a successful lockdown without proper public awareness.
“People need to understand that such a situation comes in a century. About a century ago, this kind of widespread lockdown measures were taken in the time of Spanish flu,“ she said, adding that the virus infection is not limited to any specific group and people cannot consider the general holiday as normal holiday.
It is time the lockdown should be called a lockdown officially so that mass people understand the gravity of this situation, she added.
Referring to shopping malls reopening, she said shopping for Eid is not a necessity but if people go out anyway, they must take precautionary measures like wearing gloves and masks.
“Even with the protective gears, one cannot really control the crowd around them,” she said.
Country wide lockdown was imposed on March 26
Non-compliance with health advisories and social distancing strategies also continue to be a common phenomena in Bangladesh, as hundreds of people have been found roaming the streets during the government enforced shutdown since March 26.
When the first cases were reported on March 8, Bangladesh was busy with preparations to celebrate the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on March 17. Within a few days however, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina took the bold decision to the grand celebrations in abeyance.
She also asked people to avoid large gatherings, but the advice was unheeded in different parts of Bangladesh.
All educational activities were suspended on March 17.
On March 24, with the number of cases surging, the government announced public holidays initially from March 26 to April 4, which was extended in phases till May 15. Passenger transports were allowed on March 24-25 and thousands of people travelled across the country in crowded vehicles, increasing the risk of spread of the virus.
The number of cases spiked in April despite the government-announced shutdown, as people continued to flout directives and law enforcement agencies struggled to keep them at home.
All commercial flights are grounded till May 16.
