BSMMU begins COVID-19 testing, DMCH is ready

The Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University has begun testing for the coronavirus infection while the Dhaka Medical College Hospital is also ready for the launch of its lab as new cases continue to emerge weeks after the pandemic reached Bangladesh.

The two hospitals in the capital, at the heart of the government’s healthcare system treating thousands of patients from across the country daily, say they are still not treating COVID-19 patients.

Professor Saif Ullah Munshi, head of the virology department at the BSMMU, said they conducted tests on specimens of four patients from private hospitals on Wednesday and sent the results to the government’s disease control agency IEDCR.

He said it was important to send the results to the IEDCR because it was doing the jobs like contact tracing to stem the outbreak.

The lab in the hospital can carry out tests on specimens from 93 suspected patients at a time and the results come out in three to four hours, Prof Saif said.

Vice Chancellor Prof Kanak Kanti Barua has visited the lab and said BSMMU will treat COVID-19 patients if needed.

At the DMCH, the lab has been set up at the virology department on the fourth floor, the hospital’s Director Brig Gen AKM Nasiruddin told bdnews24.com.

He said suspected patients were still advised to visit the other hospitals designated for coronavirus tests and treatment as the DMCH would initially conduct the tests only on its inpatients and outpatients.

Both hospitals are using Polymerase Chain Reaction or PCR test kits.