Moudud Ahmmed Sujan

Despite a gradual decline in the prices of RT-PCR testing kits in the market, the government has not lowered the cost of the Covid tests at private hospitals and labs since May 2021.

As a group of Chinese researchers flagged concerns about NeoCov, claiming this new virus has a latent potential to mutate and penetrate the human population, two Bangladeshi experts think the fear is illogical and there is no need to panic.

 The actual Covid-19 caseload in Bangladesh at present is most definitely higher than what is being reported officially, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque yesterday -- highlighting the severity of the ongoing wave of coronavirus cases.

Community transmission of the quick-spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus is now occurring in Bangladesh, said health officials yesterday -- in an acknowledgement that forebodes an unprecedented surge in cases in the days ahead.

Deaths caused by the coronavirus infection have doubled in a week as daily new cases and the positivity rate continue to soar.

Bangladesh now plans to inoculate 70 percent of its population with the Covid-19 vaccine -- down from the initial plan of 80 percent -- in line with the World Health Organisation’s target.

The third wave of Covid-19 cases is rising at a faster rate than in the previous two waves, shows official data -- raising the stakes for the public to strictly follow the health guidelines.

Hundreds of senior citizens suffered due to the mismanagement in administering Covid-19 booster shots at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Disease Institute and Hospital in Dhaka yesterday.

Hospitals in three divisions have seen a rise in the number of patients being admitted  with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, according to the health directorate.

With the health directorate reporting 2,458 new Covid cases yesterday, the highest in four months, experts warned that the pandemic situation, fuelled by community transmission of Omicron variant, may get worse fast.

Everything is under control -- still. But the ticking hospital bed occupancy rate from the turn of the year presages a storm ahead, not too dissimilar from the one witnessed about six months ago.

The government considers stepping up vaccine campaign, lowering the age limit for booster doses and preventing gathering of unvaccinated people at public places to contain the spike of Covid cases.

With new cases of Covid-19 rising steadily for four days, the country faces the bleak prospect of another wave of the coronavirus that might put the health care system under serious strain again, experts fear.

The major challenges for the healthcare sector of Bangladesh in 2021 was ensuring supply of Covid vaccines, inoculating a huge chunk of the population, and making sure the infected got beds, ICU beds, and adequate oxygen.

The government is yet to take any effective measures to prevent a possible surge in Covid-19 cases as per recommendations made by the National Technical Advisory Committee.

The government is preparing to introduce travel bans on South Africa and other countries where the Omicron variant of coronavirus has been found.

Antibiotic overuse in poultry farming in Bangladesh is breeding the rise of “superbugs” that cannot be managed with traditional treatments, say multiple studies -- raising the stakes for the government to rein in the use of the drug considered the crown jewel of modern medicine.

Almost all clinically important and widely used antibiotics have lost their effectiveness by more than 50 percent, found a recent study -- a development that can leave the population defenceless against pandemics.

Sixty one percent of Bangladesh’s population still do not have access to safely managed toilet facilities, UN Water data suggests.

Seventeen days have passed but the law enforcers and a government probe committee are still in the dark about the 17 missing files of the health ministry, leaving the investigation shrouded in mystery.