Over the last five months, the Covid-19 has dominated the world.
After tracking down Covid-19's patient zero in Wuhan, China, it has now trespassed in every country around the globe.
These five months have been the most active in the history of epidemiology. Since that first report, we’ve learned so much about the coronavirus.
What was one of the most important lessons? How the disease is spread.
In particular, so-called superspreading events seem to be a major cause of infections. One London School of Hygiene analysis suggested that 80% of the secondary transmissions were caused by just 10% of infected people.
In other words, if you want to avoid getting Covid-19, one of your major focuses should be avoiding a superspreading event.
So, as Bangladeshis leave their homes, discontinue public holidays, reopen public transports and re engage with society, we thought now would be a good time to scour through the things that led to each superspreading event, and do our best to avoid them.
The result is the following compendium of events in public places so that we can learn lessons from them.
Hospitals
Two patients went into surgery at Sir Salimullah Medical College (SSMC) or Mitford Hospital concealing information that they have come from Narayanganj and Madaripur, two of the most infected districts.
But after the operation, they disclose about their districts, and upon suspicion they were tested and found Covid-19 positive.
However, thirteen health workers — five doctors, five nurses, and three ward boys — were infected.
They either took part in the operations, or attended them at the post-operative unit.
Moreover, these doctors attended many patients and conducted surgeries until they were sent to quarantine.
Mosques
A 26-year-old imam endured cough, throat pain, and fever, and tested Covid-19 positive at Rajoir of Madaripur on May 4.
Later, 47 people who came to pray at the mosque and met the imam at other places were identified.
Of them, 29 people’s samples were sent to Dhaka’s Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR).
Six tested positive and twenty-three negative.
Family gatherings
All of the seven members of a family at Narayanganj were diagnosed Covid-19 positive.
Shishir Chakrabarti, posted on Facebook about the experience.
First his uncle, father’s elder brother, tested positive on April 15 and was being treated in home-isolation.
Later on April 19, all six other members — Shishir including his father, mother, wife — were diagnosed positive for Covid-19. Fortunately, only the domestic help tested negative.
Besides, 11 members of a family at Nawabganj of Dhaka tested positive on May 31.
Furthermore, Patiya of Chittagong saw 10 family members contract coronavirus. At first, one person of the family tested positive, later on May 12, the other nine also tested positive.
Offices
Though a lot of organizations depended on telecommunication during the public holiday, a very few offices including television stations, police stations, hospitals, and some emergency service offices were open and people had to work at the offices.
Television newsrooms could be a perfect example of how the office environment, with 24-hours air-conditioner facility which helps viruses wander into the confined space, could infect a lot of staff members from one to another.
NTV has 20 staff member — three reporters, two news editors, one officer from the program department, six camerapersons, two presenters, one make-up artist, one online photographer and four more from the program department — who contracted coronavirus as of May 1.
One even died, as per a social media-based voluntary group named “Our Media, Our Rights.”
Eight journalists of Ekattor Television also contracted coronavirus at their Dhaka office.
The list includes three people from the desk, two reporters, a news presenter, a producer, and a cameraperson.
A news editor was at first infected, and the others came into contact with the person.
Living in crammed places
36 members of International Society for Krishna Consciousness [ISKCON], a radical Hindu religious organization, were living together in a temple at Swamibag of Dhaka.
Suddenly a few of them showed symptoms of coronavirus pandemic, and their samples were sent for testing.
All of them, including a priest of the temple, tested Covid-19 positive on April 24.
They were living in a crammed space together and that is why nobody was left from contracting the disease.
Jobs of working in the field
People whose job is to work with people got infected the most.
Police, Fire Service and Civil Defence are the most vulnerable in the pandemic.
Because of tackling the spread of pandemic, burying dead bodies of Covid-19 patients, executing lockdown, police were subjected to infection the most.
Over 5,000 policemen, out of a total of 200,000 members, got infected until Monday.
And 109 firefighters, out of a total of about 12,000 members, contracted coronavirus as of Monday.
Airplanes
Though there is no specific data, it is obvious that the pathogen entered into Bangladesh with those migrant workers from Italy and China, the epicentres of coronavirus.
All of them travelled in planes and carried the virus from abroad.
It is not sure that how many people got infected by those Covid-19 positive during the plane journeys — a very confined place where the virus could wander to every passenger, and where they sit within less than 3 metres distance.
Kitchen markets
Though there are no specific case studies and researches, experts think kitchen markets, especially big cities’ ones, are very helpful to spread the virus rapidly as people from every family need to visit the market.
Marriage ceremony
Two migrant workers returned from America, whose hometown is at Sadullapur of Gaibandha district.
They joined a marriage ceremony there where hundreds of guests were present.
However, a few days later, on March 22, three tested positive in Bangladesh.
Of these three, two were these migrants.
Later, the local administration placed Sadullapur upazila under lockdown.
Public transports
Recurring travel of Ready-Made Garment (RMG) workers shows how public transports (covered van, microbus, CNG-run three wheelers among others, turned into public transport during the public transport ban) help spread the virus.
When the first public holiday, starting from March 26, was announced in Bangladesh, most people left the cities.
And then came back as garment factories were supposed to open on April 6 and then authorities declared them close and they returned.
The surge of workers started again when the factories were opened on April 26. Again during Eid-ul-Fitr vacations they made their travel again.
According to Barguna General Hospital, they have tested 33 garment workers who had returned from Dhaka.
Of them, 11 (33.33%) were found to be coronavirus positive. In other professions, about one in 12 (8.33%) were infected with Covid-19.
These were people who were brought to the hospital by law enforcement, but many others have already gone to their homes in remote areas which means the virus was allowed to spread to remote locations.
251 RMG workers of 129 factories have been diagnosed with Covid-19 as of June 1, according to a tally by Industrial Police.
“Most of them might have been infected when they went home after the general holiday was announced initially,” said Mohammad Amzad Hossain, superintendent of Police at the Industrial Police Headquarters.
