The government has decided to rent five resorts to ensure provisional accommodation for medical professionals, including doctors and nurses, who will treat coronavirus patients at the Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Medical College and Hospital (STAMCH), in Gazipur.
Medical professionals in the hospital will continue general treatment in the meantime.
“We are all set to start treating coronavirus patients at Shaheed Taj Uddin Medical College and Hospital,” said Ali Noor, secretary of Medical Education and Welfare Division.
The official said that the hospital authority has tentatively picked five resorts for accommodating medical professionals, as a result of the lack of quality of residential hotels.
“The selected resorts are around five to ten kilometers away from the hospital as none are available nearby,” said a physician employed at STAMCH.
“All the health professional will get accommodation facility for their safety, while serving Covid-19 patients,” said Noor Ali.
According to a decision by Health Service Division, accommodation cost for the medical professionals will be paid by the government.
Sherajul Islam, additional secretary (hospital) at the Health Services Division, said: "The hospital authorities have booked the hotels for accommodation and we will bear all the expenses in this regard.”
Physicians and nurses at Dhaka's Kuwait Bangladesh Friendship Government Hospital and Kurmitola General Hospital in Dhaka, who are treating Covid-19 patients, have been getting hotel facilities for the last few days.
The DGHS has selected around 20 hotels in Dhaka for accommodating 530 medical professionals.
Since several doctors and nurses have already contracted Covid-19, the government has taken the initiative, aiming to avoid endangering the families of healthcare professionals when they return home from work, officials said.
The healthcare providers must remain in their respective hotel rooms for 14 days after finishing their week-long shifts, before returning home, as a precaution, they added.
General treatment will also be continued as usual at STAMCH
Ali Noor said, despite STAMCH being used to treat coronavirus patients, the hospital will continue serving general patients.
However, a physician and nurse, working at the hospital, opposed the decision of continuing to treat all kinds of patients at the hospital.
“We are still dealing with huge numbers of general patients at the hospital, which may interrupt the treatment of coronavirus patients,” said the physician, seeking anonymity.
However, Noor Ali said: “As the main healthcare center in the district, the hospital is required to be open to all kinds of patients.”
Coronavirus has so far infected 2,144 people and killed 84 people in Bangladesh.
Globally, the virus has infected 2,340,851 people and killed 160,903 people.
