The health department has advised the government to enforce partial lockdowns in areas where Covid-19 infection is more prevalent, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque.
He was speaking at the online event of the inaugural ceremony of the expansion activities of the Heart Institute and Hospital on Monday.
"We have given the government a long list of advices on how to prevent infection. I hope a decision will be taken in a day or two after discussing with the prime minister,” said the minister.
Zahid Maleque said: "We have advised the government to shut down recreational places like Cox's Bazar and Bandarban, or restrict public gatherings. We also advised to stop or restrict picnics, weddings, religious gatherings; restricting gathering in restaurants and only allowing half of the amount of passengers in public transports. We have suggested limiting the manpower in the offices as well.”
"If the infection gets worse, deaths will increase and the economy will suffer," he said adding: “We have provided as many beds as possible in hospitals. We cannot increase ICU manpower overnight even if we want to.”
Meanwhile, the health minister requested physicians of the National Institute of Cardiovascular Disease and Hospital to be more proactive while providing treatments, reports UNB.
More patients will get proper treatment at the NICVD as the government has raised the bed numbers to 1,250 from 414 and turned the four-storey hospital into an eight-storey building, he said.
Besides, works of eight specialised hospitals for cardiovascular disease in eight divisions have made significant progress, the minister said, adding that the number of beds will be raised to 1,400 after completion of these hospitals.
