We need humanised hospitals with sturdy management
Hospitals need to be more humanised. They are not veterinary but human hospitals. Thereby, it must be ensured that people are not scared to go to hospitals. The doctors must not shun their patients
The number of deaths from the novel coronavirus infection is escalating in the country. To minimise the number of casualties we must place more emphasis on the hospital management system.
We would need to ensure sufficient oxygen supply and ventilator facilities. The patients cannot be saved unless the hospitals provide them with quality treatments. To save the doctors personal protective equipment (PPE) must be allocated.
Hospitals need to be more humanised. They are not veterinary but human hospitals. Thereby, it must be ensured that people are not scared to go to hospitals. The doctors must not shun their patients.
Till date, around 170 physicians have been infected with novel coronavirus in Bangladesh.
Why has this happened? Why the doctors were not equipped with proper protective measures?
Doctors are being infected for wearing counterfeit PPEs. It is being blamed on patients that they are hiding information, but with the help of original protective equipment doctors are supposed to be protected from virus contagion.
However, stringent lockdown measures should be imposed to prevent coronavirus transmission as the condition will not improve otherwise.
There have been no measures adopted for people who are being deprived of food and dying from sickness because they are not allowed to go outside amid the partial nationwide lockdown. Citizens need to be satisfied with their right to food and nutrition, and right to health services as well as other fundamental human rights.
Countrymen are not abiding by the rules of lockdown due to the fear of starvation. The reliefs are not being distributed properly.
Without ensuring the basics, the lockdown will never be successful. We need a genuine lockdown which can only be suspended once the virus infection and transmission abate.
Comparatively, a little number of people has been diagnosed with COVID-19 outside of Dhaka division but there is no reason to be delighted about it. The number of virus testing needs to be augmented to depict the real picture.
Moreover, 87 percent of the total coronavirus positive patients are hailed from Dhaka division. Hence, a strong taskforce needs to be formed for Dhaka city and special attention should be given to the virus focal-points of the division, like- Narayanganj, Gazipur and Savar.
Professor Nazrul Islam, is a noted virologist and former vice-chancellor of Banglabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University
