As COVID cases and deaths trend down, how optimistic should Bangladesh be?

The COVID-19 infection rate in Bangladesh is steadily declining. Friday saw the lowest number of cases and deaths in more than a year and a half of the pandemic.

Experts, however, said that the vaccination drive must continue and an emphasis must be put on health guidelines to maintain this downward trend.

The country recorded 232 new COVID cases and four deaths in the 24 hours to 8 am Friday, according to the data from the government.

Wearing a mask is an essential part of the hygiene rules designed to curb the coronavirus pandemic. Sadek Ali Sardar, a rickshaw-puller, decorated his three-wheeler with masks to create public awareness about face coverings. Photo: Asif Mahmud Ove

As many as 17,100 samples were tested across the country, for a positivity rate of 1.36 percent. The last time the infection rate was this low was on Apr 2, 2020. That day, near the start of the pandemic in Bangladesh, saw only 147 tests and two positive results.

According to the Directorate General of Health Services, the total COVID caseload stood at 1,567,139 on Friday, with the death toll at 27,805.

Several countries have seen the number of new cases fall and then rise again, including the United Kingdom, Russia, China and Belarus, Mushtuq Husain, former chief scientific officer of the IEDCR, told bdnews24.com.

This recurrence is not unusual and Bangladesh must remain extremely vigilant to prevent it, he said. 

A woman receives her first dose of the coronavirus vaccine at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Academy vaccination centre in the capital's Sher-e-Bangla Nagar on Saturday, Aug 7, 2021. Photo: Asif Mahmud Ove

"For this reason, our ongoing attempts to prevent infections cannot be hampered in any way. Efforts should be made to vaccinate as many people as possible. Although it will not be totally possible to prevent infections, the number of deaths from the virus can still be reduced.”

Although the situation has improved, there is no guarantee that things will remain like this, said Be-Nazir Ahmed, a former director of the Directorate General of Health Services. Whether the virus remains under control will depend on the preventative measures taken.

“Immunisation coverage should be increased as soon as possible. If we can vaccinate 80 percent of people over the age of 18 within two to three months, we will be more confident. The next step will be to vaccinate those under the age of 18. In other words, if we can vaccinate 80 percent of our population within the next six months, we can go back to our normal lives.”

Bangladesh detected its first case of COVID on Mar 8 last year and the first death from the disease ten days later.

During the first wave of COVID in July last year, the number of patients and deaths was high, but the second wave that hit the country was much worse.

Infections rose across the country since March of this year due to the more contagious and deadly Delta variant. Record number of infections and deaths were registered in the months afterwards.