Editorial: A grim picture ahead for Dhaka

It is worrying that the number of Covid-19 cases has been increasing alarmingly in Dhaka, with over 85 percent of all confirmed cases recorded in the division. As of April 23, the country had a total of 4,186 confirmed cases. While one of the reasons for such a high number of cases in Dhaka could be that comparatively more tests are being conducted here, other reasons include ineffective restrictions, lack of awareness among people, population density in the region, etc. Even though Dhaka has the highest number of Covid-19 cases, it does not at all reflect the real picture as the number of tests being conducted here is still very low. Also, with far fewer tests being conducted in other divisions of the country, it cannot be said that the condition of the rest of the country is any better. There are reports in the media of people dying all across the country with Covid-19-like symptoms every day.

Since the outbreak is gaining pace in Dhaka with a surge in deaths and new infections, health experts have warned that if rigorous measures are not taken immediately, the situation can be far worse than we can imagine. What we need now is increased testing, proper contact tracing and isolation efforts. We need to test as many people with symptoms as possible and also trace the contacts of all the positive cases. According to health professionals, every Covid-19 patient represents a cluster of around 20 people who might also be infected. So, all these people should be traced immediately and kept in isolation. Failing to take these steps will mean more deaths and infections in the coming days. Although eventually people would gain herd immunity but that "can be challenging to induce through unchecked infection as there would be a very high rate of serious illness and deaths" (according to Global Alliance for Vaccination and Immunization)—with our health system overwhelmed well beyond its capacity.

As the outbreak is approaching its peak in Dhaka, no one should be allowed to come out of their home for the next few weeks. Only by increasing the number of daily tests, contact tracing, detecting the hidden cases and strictly enforcing the lockdown measures, can we avert a possible public health catastrophe.