Wasim Bin Habib

One in every 10 people in the capital may have already been infected with Covid-19, says the World Bank, warning that the coronavirus pandemic is not likely to pass anytime soon.

Implementation of government’s stimulus package, announced to absorb the economic shock from the coronavirus pandemic, saw a mixed progress as around 26 percent of the massive Tk 111,141-crore scheme was disbursed in four months till July.

With infections and deaths from Covid-19 still far from over, a high-powered technical committee has warned that a “second wave” of coronavirus infections may be coming, advising the government to prepare a roadmap and take all-out preparations to prevent the possible resurgence.

Shabeeb has been having trouble concentrating on his studies for the last few days. Stuck at home for six months, the fourth grader of a reputed private school in the capital has become bored and depressed.

Ignoring the risks of further spread of Covid-19, the government has lifted the restrictions on public movement and activities from today even though the coronavirus pandemic is showing no sign of abating.

“Seven policemen sent to jail”, “‘Drama by cops’ gone wrong”, “Bamna OC withdrawn for slapping ASI”, “Kotwali OC, 4 cops sued for extortion”, and “Durgapur OC withdrawn over torturing Jubo League leader”, were some of the headlines over the last few days.

More than two years have gone by but Ayesha Begum, wife of slain Teknaf municipality councillor Akramul Haque, still does not know whether there has been any investigation into her husband’s killing.

The number of daily Covid-19 tests has continued to decline over the past three weeks, although experts have all along been saying that increasing the number is crucial to stem the virus infection.

Four months into the Covid-19 outbreak in the country, the government still appears to have no noticeable plan to contain the spread of the virus.

Nearly 6.53 crore poor people in Bangladesh should receive time-bound temporary cash payments to cope with the worst impacts of Covid-19 pandemic, according to the United Nations.

Although government efforts to contain Covid-19 are plagued by various scams and sheer mismanagement, Health Minister Zahid Maleque thinks his ministry has performed well in handling the crisis.

Following weeks of controversies and a day after the director general of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) quit, the government has decided to make some reshuffles at the top end of the directorate.

The rift between the health ministry and the health directorate over the Regent Hospital scam will seriously hurt the government efforts to contain the Covid-19 outbreak, say experts.

The health ministry and health directorate are at loggerheads over signing of a deal with Regent Hospital after the disturbing discovery of the hospital’s involvement in issuing fake Covid-19 test results.

The fake Covid-19 tests have not only posed a risk to public health but also put the Bangladeshi expatriates in trouble.

The health services division of the health ministry knew that Regent Hospital’s licence had expired years ago but it still went ahead and signed a deal in early March for treating Covid-19 patients there.

The committees formed by the government to help it make policy decisions to put the brakes on the pandemic have not been working properly or their recommendations were ignored.

He was a paragon of business ethics.

It was a quiet Friday evening at the Holey Artisan Bakery towards the end of Ramadan in 2016.

A little over two months ago, the chief of the country’s health directorate in an interview with an Indian magazine narrated Bangladesh government’s position on Covid-19 testing, saying the tests were free of costs.