Covid-19: 21 die, 1030 infected in Tangail

A total of 1030 people in the district have tested positive for Covid-19 after 9709 samples have been tested as of Wednesday. Of the patients, 21 have been reported dead from Covid-19 while 555 have recovered and the rest are undergoing treatment at home and hospitals. People from different professions, including government officials, politicians, police, health workers and journalists, have been infected with coronavirus in 12 upazilas of the district in the last three and half months. 

Of the total infected in the district, highest 333 Covid-19 patients have been detected in Mirzapur while lowest 20 in Basail upazila. 

A total of 454 patients in Tangail are currently receiving treatment at home and hospitals. Of them, 438 are undergoing treatment at home, four at the Corona unit in Tangail General Hospital and one at a local upazila health complex and the rest at different hospitals outside the district.

According to the civil surgeon office in Tangail, the first Covid-19 patient--a private clinic employee of Narayanganj-- was detected in Mirzapur upazila of the district on April 6. Since then samples of total 9709 people have been collected in the district till July 15.  Of them, 8508 were negative while results of 184 samples were pending.

Meanwhile, the sample collection has declined from this month in the district. Earlier, samples were collected randomly for coronavirus testing. But currently only 10 samples are collected from each upazila every day.

Dr Ramapada Roy, upazila health and family planning officer in Tangail Sadar, said they are now only collecting samples of the patients with Covid-19 symptoms for avoiding unnecessary tests.

"We want to detect new patients. For second time, now we are not conducting tests for those Covid-19 patients who have no symptoms after they were put in home isolation for 14 days," he said.

The Covid-19 patients, who are undergoing treatment at hospital, will be tested only for second time upon the doctor's advice, he added.

SM Ruhul Amin of Sabalia area in the town said he has been suffering from fever and stomach pain for over a week. After coming to Tangail General Hospital, the on duty doctors gave him several pathology tests and asked him to visit after two days. When he again visited the hospital with the test reports, the doctors prescribed him and asked him to come seven days later.

He has Covid-19 symptoms but the hospital authority did not take his sample, Ruhul said.            

Like Ruhul, several other people came to the hospital with such symptoms shared the same experience with this correspondent.  

Shafiqul Islam Sajib, resident medical officer (RMO) of Tangail General Hospital, said they are taking samples of the people who have Covid-19 symptoms. But the number is not more than 20 a day.

Acute shortage of medical equipment is hampering treatment at the Corona unit of the hospital, said the RMO.

On the other hand, despite repeated pleas from all sections of people, a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing lab for detecting Covid-19 infection is yet to be set up in Tangail. As a result, the samples are sent to Dhaka for tests and it takes several days to get the results. In the meantime, people who gave samples move freely and spread infection. An Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is also yet to be set up in the district. 

Contacted, Civil Surgeon Dr Mohammad Waheduzzaman said works to set up both a 10-bed ICU unit at Tangail General Hospital and a PCR lab at Sheikh Hasina Medical College in the district town are going on.