Brace for fresh Covid combat

The government has instructed Covid-19 patients to undergo treatment in their district hospitals as it issued a set of directives to combat the recent spike in coronavirus infections and deaths.

The fresh instructions also include mandatory antigen test for those coming from India through different land ports irrespective of having Covid-19 vaccination certificate. It will also be applicable for suspected Covid-19 patients for hospitalisation.

The directives came following a meeting of the Directorate General of Health Services with all civil surgeons and divisional health officials on Wednesday where the health minister was present.

Officials said hospitals were asked to take full preparations as the Covid cases started rising over the past one week, thanks to the worldwide invasion of Omicron variant of the virus and lowering of the safety measures.

Covid-19 patients must be treated where the patient is diagnosed, and without proper explanations, no patient can be sent to Dhaka as it will do nothing but increase the chance of spreading Omicron.

"Patients of other districts cannot be sent to Dhaka without the forwarding of the hospitals concerned. Doctors should mention why the patient is needed to send to Dhaka. All the district hospitals are equipped to treat Covid patients," Prof ABM Khurshid Alam, director general of DGHS, told The Daily Star.

He added that the decision was made to reduce pressure on hospitals in Dhaka and contain the transmission of the Covid-19 as transporting a patient to Dhaka from a district is risky.

The DG said antigen test is mandatory for the incoming passengers and suspected Covid-19 patients for hospital admission as RT-PCR test is time-consuming.

"Instructions have been given to do the antigen test first and if needed then only go for RTPCR test."

Officials said the meeting also instructed to coordinate with local law enforcement agencies to enforce institutional quarantine strictly.

They said oxygen supply to district hospitals is adequate and ICU beds along with nasal cannula and oxygen generators are sufficient.

"Even oxygen supply to upazila health complexes is smooth. So, we asked the civil surgeons and health officials to take full preparations," said DG Prof Khurshid.

Country's Covid-19 situation is getting worse as the number of cases has been increasing for the last few days.

India yesterday registered one-lakh mark in its daily Covid-19 tally with as many as 1,17,100 new cases being recorded in 24 hours.

Meanwhile, World Health Organization on Thursday reported that more than 2.6 million coronavirus cases were registered around the world in 24 hours, which is the highest daily rate for the entire pandemic.

Expressing frustration over the lax in following the health protocols by people, Health Minister Zahid Maleque yesterday said, "The way the political, social and religious gatherings are going on across the country is unacceptable. If such situations continue, hospitals will be burdened with patients and we will have nothing to do."

He said the surge is still in the "take-off" situation and it may reach to peak in March-April. "If we can delay it, it will be good for us."