Fear in the city air as coronavirus crisis almost shuts Dhaka

A family are waiting with excitement to have a newborn to love, to cuddle, to cherish as the expecting mother, Tonni Akter Snigdha, prepares for the delivery, but things are different for her.

Her baby is expected to see the light of the world very soon when it is coping with a pandemic that has ravaged the economy and hit daily life hard with the strict measures to keep people away from each other.

Snigdha, 35 weeks into pregnancy, is now worried about her soon-to-be born child; what if they catch the coronavirus from the hospital?

Her obstetrician closed the chamber after she visited them last Saturday. Snigdha is not feeling good about it.

“This is the time I need my doctor the most. But they closed the chamber for two weeks and asked me to contact them over the phone. The problems that I’m facing now can’t be settled through conversation over the phone. I need to have an ultrasonogram to see the status of my child, which can't be done now. I am quite scared having reached the last phase," she told bdnews24.com.

Snigdha is now living at her parent's place in Mirpur along with her husband and 15 months old child.

"I haven't even decided which hospital to go for the delivery. It takes at least a three-day stay in the hospital when you deliver a child. And we're not sure what will the situation be in the country in two weeks from now. My child may catch the coronavirus from the hospital as there will be all sorts of patients there," she said.

"And I have a 15-month-old child; my parents, husband and others will go to the hospital to meet me. They may get infected too. I have lost my appetite and sleep over these issues."

Everyone is worrying themselves sick about the coronavirus, a highly contagious virus that causes COVID-19 disease. In Bangladesh - one of the most densely populated countries –it is spreading slowly as most other parts of the world are struggling to keep death tolls and infections low.

The government has already banned mass gathering and closed educational institutions and offices to slow the spread of the virus.

People living in Dhaka are also going through changes in their daily life since the city almost went under a lockdown.

Some are tense while others are relieved considering that they will not be infected or spread the virus if they stay at home.

Many of the people, who are working from home, are not happy with the option. Some are opting to shop grocery online.

Neeta Chattopaddhay works with a multinational company and lives in Baridhara. She has sent her domestic help on leave and now has to spend a lot of time doing household chores.

“Earlier I used to do a little housework but now I have to do everything as my house help is on holiday. It’s a major change in my everyday routine,” she told bdnews24.com.

“I used to cook one or two dishes occasionally but now have to cook the full meal. I have to cook the food for my parents before getting down to work in the morning. Of course it’s a change.”

Samia Rahman, a student of Jahangirnagar University living in Mirpur, has not stepped out of her home for eight days. She’s spending time helping her mother, studying, drawing, doing paper craft works and cooking fancy dishes.

“The last time I went out was on Mar 18. From my balcony, I saw many people loitering around for no reason. They should realise that it’s time they started staying at home,” she said.

A security guard passing leisure time inside a rickshaw garage in Dhaka’s Mohakhali as all kinds of public transport have been shut down due to the coronavirus holidays. Photo: Asif Mahmud Ove

Samia is giving her student lessons through video call. “I don’t mind staying at home, I want to see the back of this coronavirus,” she said.

Former government staffer AMN Zaman and his wife live with their daughter. He used to do the grocery as his banker daughter and son journalist son-in-law remained busy.

“Now I’m not going out to shop as my daughter is not allowing it. Well, I should not go out,” he said.

“My 6-year-old son used to go to school and to the playground in the evening. Now all of it has stopped. The boy is getting cranky every day and glued to the mobile phone the entire day,” Kamarjabin Mithi, a resident of Pallabi, told bdnews24.com.

She has bought everything she needed, though they were pricier than usual.

Jagannath University student ‘Mim’ shares a flat with a family at Bongram in Old Dhaka. She is spending her time doing household chores, cooking, watching movies and reading books. But she is worried about her neighbours’ lack of awareness.

“I didn’t find the residents in Old Dhaka aware of the situation. They’re staying away the main road because of the police patrol but moving around in the alleys; they’re visiting each other in their apartments.

Open sky means a rooftop now as people have been told to stay at home to keep themselves from the coronavirus harm. Some city dwellers are taking care of a rooftop garden to spend their leisure time. Photo: Asif Mahmud Ove

“A grocer lives in the room next to mine. I am staying home but he’s going out. Therefore, I may get infected with the coronavirus. I’m trying my best to keep myself locked in the room.”

Her classmates went back to village home but Mim decided to stay back.

“I felt it is safe here. My books, computer, everything is in Dhaka anyway. So I didn’t go.”

Sarwar Hossain Kanak, who works at a private bank, lives in Shekhertek, Mohammadpur. His sister and her husband share the accommodation with them.

“The three of us are staying at home now. We’re really scared. A little bit of physical discomfort makes us go paranoid. But at least staying home gives us some sort of relief. We can avoid the crowd. Staying at home is the good thing to do,” he said.

But they are worried about his brother-in-law, a journalist going out to work. “All of us are scared of contracting the coronavirus. We’re trying our best to protect ourselves against it,” he said.

“Actually, there’s no proper environment at home to do office work. It feels like you have worked a lot when you have done so little. But you can’t do much about it. I don’t know how long we will have to go on in this manner,” said Azizul Haque, an IT executive with a private firm.

People enjoying a rooftop game of football in Dhaka’s Mohakhali as going out of home is restricted due to the coronavirus. Photo: Asif Mahmud Ove

“I’m ordering grocery online. It’s taking a bit of time to get them delivered to my home but at least my needs are taken care of,” said Azizul.

A scientist at the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research is suffering from light fever and cough. He has been staying indoors since Mar 15 as ordered by his office.

“Earlier I used to be in the office from 9am to 5pm. Time flew while working with my apparatus in the laboratory. And now I’m just sitting home for the last 12 days,” he told bdnews24.com.

“I’m cooking, watching movies and reading new books that I had bought from the book fair in my leisure,” he said.

He stored some food and medicine and daily staples, said the scientist.

“We have to spend some more days in this way. The whole country in the same situation. We’ll face some difficulties in doing it, like lack of food supply or proper working atmosphere at home. But this is for the greater good of the country and its people. Everyone should remain alert until the situation becomes normal,” he said.

He also said the BCSIR laboratory is producing and supplying enough hand sanitisers.