Hospitals across the country appear to have passed the latest surge in Covid-19 infections with flying colours, but it is imperative to continue following health guidelines to prevent a recurrence, experts have said.
According to the criteria set by the World Health Organization (WHO), Covid infections are considered to be under control if the detection rate in a country is below 5% for more than two consecutive weeks. The infection rate in Bangladesh has remained below the 5% mark for the past few days.
DGHS spokesperson and Line Director Dr Robed Amin told Dhaka Tribune: “The Covid-19 detection rates are declining and so hospital admissions are also declining every day.”
According to the DGHS, the number of patients admitted to hospitals for Covid-19 had decreased by 39% on Tuesday as compared to February 16. More than 92% of hospital beds were available in the country at the beginning of the month.
On February 16, a total of 1,975 patients were being treated at Covid-19 general wards, Intensive Care Units (ICUs), and High Dependency Units (HDUs) across the country. The number of hospitalizations had dropped to 1,218 on Tuesday.
As many as 88.42% of general beds at hospitals were vacant in mid-February, as compared to 93% at the beginning of March. In HDUs across the country, 85% of beds were vacant on February 16, and 87% on Tuesday.
The number of patients in ICUs also dropped over the past week, as 87.36% of ICUs were vacant on Tuesday, as compared to 80% on February 16.
Situation in Dhaka
About 11% of beds in Dhaka Division were occupied as of Tuesday, as compared to 16% on February 16.
There are 47 public and private Covid-19 hospitals in Dhaka. They include 5,121 general beds, 757 ICU beds, and 537 HDU beds.
On Tuesday, 4,597 general, 671 ICU, and 451 HDU beds were vacant.
Prof Nazrul Islam, noted virologist and member of the National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19, told Dhaka Tribune: “We predicted that, considering the type and effect of Omicron, the rate of infection would decrease in early March, and the number of hospital admissions would decrease. Here we can say that vaccination activities have played an important role in bringing infections under control.”
