13 virus deaths in Kushtia in a day, 4 in Rajshahi

The border district of Kushtia has registered 13 deaths due to COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8 am Tuesday, while the lab at Kushtia Medical College has logged 432 new cases of the disease.

Two more patients showing symptoms consistent with the disease died in the district over this period.

The coronavirus unit at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital recorded four deaths in the 24 hours to 6 am on Tuesday. Those patients tested positive for the disease. Another 15 patients experiencing symptoms also died at the unit over this period.

OXYGEN CRISIS IN KUSHTIA?

Relatives of patients admitted in the district claim that the number of deaths in the area is due to a critical lack of oxygen.

But Kushtia Civil Surgeon Dr HM Anwarul Islam says the rising number of deaths is due to an increase in cases in the district.

All of those who died experienced a drop in their oxygen level, said Dr Abdul Momen, the supervisor of Kushtia Medical College Hospital.

A total of 1,221 samples were tested for the coronavirus in the 24 hours to 8 am on Tuesday, said Dr Islam. The positivity rate among the samples was 35.5 percent. The total death toll from the disease in the district stands at 277, according to the latest count.

Police, other law enforcers, mobile courts and the army have been deployed throughout the district and are conducting patrols to enforce lockdown restrictions.

76 MORE PATIENTS AT RMCH

In the past 24 hours, another 76 patients have been admitted to the RMCH coronavirus unit, while 73 have left the hospital after completing their recoveries, said Brig Gen Shameem Yazdany, the hospital’s director. The unit, which has a capacity of 454 beds, was caring for 489 patients, 19 of whom were in the ICU.

The positivity rate among coronavirus tests conducted on samples from the Rajshahi district was 29.3 percent on Monday, said Shameem Yazdany.

Despite the ongoing lockdown in the area, more people were out on the streets on Tuesday. There were more private vehicles and battery-run autorickshaws on the roads as well, but they have had to undergo inspections from law enforcers.

Alongside police and RAB, 11 platoons of the army, BGB and Ansar are currently deployed in Rajshahi to implement the lockdown, said Rajshahi Executive Magistrate Abu Aslam. Twenty-two mobile courts are also operating in the district.

On Monday, 87 cases were filed for violating lockdown restrictions and fines amounting to Tk 76,600 were handed out, Aslam said.