COVID-19 testing trouble mounts as crowds getting bigger at hospitals in winter

Experts have been saying for months that the healthcare system may get overburdened in winter and they are now being vindicated by the rising number of coronavirus tests and infections, which offer a glimpse of how complicated the situation is becoming.

The laboratories conducted 19,054 tests on Dec 15, the highest since the first cases were detected in March, as crowds seeking COVID-19 tests at hospitals and other healthcare facilities are getting bigger by the day.

The number of samples collected on that day, which was 19,032, is also the highest, according to the Directorate General of Health Services. 

As many as 140 labs, including 10 antigen test facilities, are testing samples from suspected coronavirus patients in Bangladesh now.

The Mugda General Hospital in Dhaka begins sample collection at 10am daily, but the queue of suspected patients gets long very early in the morning.

Sabera Khanam, a working woman, and three of her flatmates from Khamarbari, came to the hospital to give samples on Tuesday after she had felt throat pain.

“We need to be sure because we go to office daily. So, we’ve come together,” she said.

Shahadat Hossain, a bank official from Basabo, said he came for the test as instructed by his office after catching fever.

“The crowd is huge here although only 180 to 200 samples are collected in a day. It is impossible to give sample if you don’t come and queue quite early in the morning,” he said.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases climbed to 498,293 after 1,318 people tested positive for COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8am Friday.

Bangladesh registered 25 new fatalities from the novel coronavirus in the same period, taking the death toll to 7,217.

The daily count of cases has hovered between 1,100 and 2,300 in the first half of December after the number crossed 2,500 on Nov 30. The daily rate was around 2,000 in September and October with a drop in number of tests after Bangladesh recorded 3,500 to 4,000 cases from mid-June to early July.

Bangladesh conducted over 388,000 coronavirus tests in October, more than 435,000 in November and nearly 250,000 in the first 16 days of December.

Nongovernment organisation BRAC has collected around 23,500 samples through its 38 kiosks in Dhaka and six in Chattogram in October, 32,470 samples in November and over 18,000 in the first half of December.

 

Dr Mirana Zaman, who is coordinating the BRAC kiosks, said the trend to get tested is rising among the people while the rate of cold-related diseases has increased in winter.

“More and more people are coming for the tests because the symptoms of COVID-19 and cold-related diseases are similar. And hospitals now ask for coronavirus test results first before treating patients,” she said.

CROWDS AT GOVERNMENT HOSPITALS

Most of the patients prefer the government hospitals for the tests as they charge Tk 100 while the fees at private facilities is Tk 3,500. For home sample collection, the private facilities charge at least Tk 1,000 more.

In Dhaka, 12 government hospitals, 22 private hospitals and 22 private diagnostic centres test patients for coronavirus. The samples collected by BRAC are tested through the DGHS.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Mugda General Hospital and Shaheed Suhrwardy Medical College Hospital are the only government facilities that collect samples from outpatients. The other government hospitals collect samples from admitted patients only.

At the BSMMU, the suspected patients have to register online for the tests, but it is difficult to book a test there as most are reserved for healthcare workers, journalists, freedom fighters, employees of the university, engineers, agriculturists, bankers and security forces.

It was not possible to book a test under the quota for the general public at the BSMMU on Wednesday afternoon.

At the Suhrawardy hospital, the process to book a test is more complicated. A person has to call a number to book the test between 9am and 10am daily, but it is difficult to get through at that time. The test is done the next day.

Swapan Majumder, who came to the hospital from Tejgaon to give sample, said the process need to be easier.  “I had come two days ago, but it took time to understand the process,” he said.

 

‘Ismail’ brought his 14-month old nephew Omar Faruq for the test at the hospital. Both Faruq and his mother require the test for his surgery at the National Heart Foundation. Ismail also said he spent a whole day to learn that the test has to be booked by phone. 

“The next day I had to try for 40 minutes to get the number free,” said Ismail. “And another problem is that they will give the report after 72 hours. It would be better for us if we got the report earlier,” he added.

It takes at least a week to book a test, queue, give sample and receive the report from a government facility, said Omar Faruque, who came to give sample at the Mugda General Hospital ahead of an eye surgery.

Tazim Ahmed, another young man in the queue there, said he needed to undergo the test to donate blood to a relative, but could not book one at the BSMMU, or Dhaka Medical College Hospital or BIRDEM.

“BIRDEM asked for Tk 3,500 for the test, but I can’t pay that much money. So I had to come here. But the queue is very long here,” he said.