Bangladesh asked to look for lockdown alternatives to save livelihood

Experts have advised the government to explore alternatives to harsh measures to keep the coronavirus outbreak in check as lockdowns hit the livelihoods of the poor.

The number of coronavirus cases in Bangladesh is on a downward trend purportedly due to the lockdown, imposed on Apr 5 and extended to May 5.

The experts say wearing masks, restricting public transport services, opening shops and malls in shifts, curbing crowds in closed spaces with poor ventilation system can be put in place while easing curbs in areas with low infection rates.

When the country entered the lockdown, the number of active and confirmed COVID-19 cases was over 100,000. It dropped to around 70,000 on Thursday, when the government reported 2,341 new virus cases, the lowest daily count in five weeks.

On Apr 7, Bangladesh reported an all-time high of 7,266 cases in a 24-hour period.

The country has confirmed 756,955 coronavirus cases so far, with 11,393 deaths.

The latest weekly report of the World Health Organization says that Bangladesh’s new infections have dropped by 25 percent.

Many traders have kept clothing stores open during the ongoing lockdown as the Rapid Action Battalion conducts a mobile court in Dhaka's Lalbagh, Apr 21, 2021. Photo: Asif Mahmud Ove

Public health expert Dr MH Chowdhury sees the downward trend of infection as a natural outcome of the lockdown.

Public transports spread infections the most, according to him. Crowds in closed spaces such as banks and offices are also COVID hotspots. Infections dropped because these were closed during the lockdown.

“Now our job is to keep doing it and find more measures to cut infections further. If we fail to do this, infections will rise again,” he warned.

“But it doesn’t mean we are asking for a two-week extension of the lockdown," Dr Chowdhury added. "What we are asking for is ways to come out of the lockdown."

For this, the government can keep restrictions in places with high infection rate and ease curbs in places with low infection rate, the public health expert said.

Dr Chowdhury, director of Health and Hope Specialised Hospital, said the authorities now need a plan to lift the lockdown in phases by taking sector-specific decisions.

Nasima Begum came to Pangu Hospital in Dhaka from Savar for the treatment of her minor daughter Roza Moni. Nasima had to walk carrying Roza from the hospital in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar to Gabtoli while returning home on Wednesday, Apr 28, 2021 as there was no public transport amid a coronavirus lockdown. The mother fed the girl outside Gabtoli Bus Terminal before resuming the journey to Savar on foot. Photo: Mahmud Zaman Ovi

The government allowed shops and malls to reopen adhering to health rules for a limited time from Apr 25.

Dr Chowdhury said the government would reopen the shops in open places first and then those with air-conditioning systems.

The shops can also be opened in shifts, he advised.  

Dr Mushtuq Husain, a former chief scientific officer at the government’s disease control agency IEDCR, also thinks the shops should open for a specific time in specific areas.

He pointed out that the death rate was still high and it will drop slowly. Bangladesh on Thursday recorded 88 deaths in the daily count.   

People taking a pick up truck ride to Savar or Manikganj from Amin Bazar Bridge amid a shutdown of public transport services due to the coronavirus outbreak on Wednesday, Apr 28, 2021. Photo: Mahmud Zaman Ovi

“So it's better to keep the lockdown as long as possible by striking a balance to save livelihoods as well,” Dr Husain said.

The public health expert advised easing some curbs. “Public transports are a big risk, but we don’t have an alternative. Shops have reopened by following health rules, but people from the marginal groups need transports to go to work.” 

He said bus windows must be kept open while the operators should be barred from taking more passengers than half the capacity.

Prof Dr Nazrul Islam, a member of the National Technical Advisory Committee on COVID-19, said research was needed to determine whether the infections dropped due to the lockdown measures.

The positivity rate was very low in December and January during winter when the economy was almost fully open amid fears of a second wave.

“We still don’t know why the cases rose when they were not supposed to rise," he said, "and why they remained low when the situation was supposed to worsen."    

People break health restrictions as they crowd a store in Dhaka’s New Market area on Sunday, April 25, amidst an ongoing virus lockdown.

Dr Islam, a former vice-chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, emphasised all-out efforts to ensure mask wearing and physical distancing.

Some of the new variants of the coronavirus are said to be resistant to vaccines, but they “cannot break into masks if 100 percent people wear face coverings.”

He added that law-enforcing agencies should act tougher to ensure the mask rules.