Monir Hossain found himself in a precarious situation as soon as Covid-19 hit the country in March last year. The 70-year-old businessman from Faridpur has been suffering from heart disease for the past five years and as such, regularly visits Dhaka for check-ups.

“While on a trip to Bandarban with a group of about 50 doctors and their families, I noticed a professor of surgery sitting on a bench with his wife screaming for help.

At around 10:30am on September 22, a noisy crowd of people were seen standing in queues in front of the ticket counter of the National Institute of Cardiovascular Disease (NICVD), eagerly awaiting an appointment with one of 12 physicians at its outdoor department.

Abdul Hakim suddenly felt severe chest pain late at night sometime in August last year.