Health directorate warns of darker days as COVID crisis worsens in Bangladesh

In a grim assessment of the COVID-19 crisis, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has warned that the pandemic could worsen over the next seven days as infections continued to soar despite the imposition of a stringent lockdown.

About 100,000 people tested positive for the coronavirus in the last 10 days as new records for daily infections and deaths were set regularly.

If the current trend continues, hospitals will run out of ICU beds within a week, according to health officials.

On Sunday, Bangladesh registered 230 new deaths from COVID-19 and 11,874 cases, a single-day record on both counts.

A year into the coronavirus outbreak, the country is now embroiled in the worst phase of the pandemic, compounded by the community transmission of the Delta variant of the coronavirus, first found in neighbouring India.

In a bid to curtail the spread of the virus, the government has enforced various restrictions on daily life since April. But as the pandemic curbs failed to have the desired results, the government imposed its harshest lockdown yet on Jul 1.

“Infections are still on the rise. Many people are dying. All the empty beds in hospitals are being filled,"  said Dr Robed Amin, a line director at the DGHS.

"If we can't control the situation in the next one week, it will get worse. The risks will be greater for everyone if that happens."

The government reported 112,718 coronavirus cases in June but that tally was almost matched in the first 10 days of July alone, he said.

"COVID-19 has spread to all districts across the country and cases are increasing. The number of deaths is also increasing as a result."

"Currently, the daily caseloads are in the 11,000-bracket. But at this rate, it will not take much time to reach 15,000 cases in a day.”

Due to the increase in infections, hospitals have been burdened with a heavy patient load in the district and Upazila level. ICU beds are also in short supply.

Unless the situation improves, a shortage of beds in hospitals will be inevitable, said Robed. "The infection could take a deadly turn in about 7 to 10 percent of infected patients, who will require hospitalisation. Some may also need to be treated in intensive care."

According to Robed, there are only around 1,800 vacant beds in Dhaka right now. "If hospital admissions continue to increase, these beds will be occupied in the next seven to 10 days."

"Currently, there are only 218 empty ICU beds. If infections continue to spiral, we will also run out of ICU beds within the next week. ”

Urging caution from the public, he said, "The new COVID-19 variant is of concern as it is not only leading to the deaths of the elderly but young people are also dying. No one is safe from COVID-19 but many people wandering outside without any urgent need."