DGHS chief warns of looming danger as virus cases surge

The chief of the Directorate General of Health Services has warned of looming dangers as coronavirus cases and deaths are surging amid people’s flagrant disregard for COVID restrictions.

“Bad news will come if people do not follow the health restrictions in place to stem the spread of COVID-19,” Prof ABM Khurshid Alam, the director-general of health services, said.

Alam who leads the key agency in the battle against the coronavirus made the remark at the inauguration of a one-stop TB centre at Shyamoli’s Tuberculosis Hospital on Sunday.

He pointed out that those who are catching the disease are mostly young people and the infected are requiring intensive care.

“Over the last two months, I’ve received no request for ICU beds. But I’ve been receiving calls over the last several days asking for ICU beds. Most of those who are contracting the disease now are requiring ICU support. Earlier, we’ve seen that only those with comorbidities needed ICU support.”

“We will face much greater trouble if we continue to ignore the health rules,” he warned.

Mentioning that all hospitals in Bangladesh were already advised to stay prepared for a second wave of the coronavirus, the DGHS chief said, “We’ve sent letters to the offices of civil surgeons, asking them to keep all ICUs ready.”

“We sat with directors of all the hospitals in Dhaka and the divisional cities and heard about what situation they are in. We asked them to keep all their beds ready. Be ready for the management of COVID patients.”

Alam also said that the local administration has been instructed to strengthen the health rules.

On whether the infection rate in Bangladesh was affected by the new variant of the virus detected in the United Kingdom and Africa, he said, “We are looking into the matter through genome sequencing.”

Bangladesh recorded 1,159 new cases of the coronavirus, the highest daily count in 10 weeks, taking the tally to 557,395. The death toll climbed to 8,545 after 18 fatalities were registered in the 24 hours to 8 am Sunday, according to data released by the government.