Growing Covid-19 cases cripple Bagerhat Sadar hospital
Bangladesh
The Covid-dedicated unit of Bagerhat Sadar Hospital is functioning at overcapacity as the 50-bed unit already has 56 patients admitted amid a scarcity of other lifesaving facilities.
Furthermore, the hospital has a central oxygen plant but no ICU facility, forcing patients to shift elsewhere.
According to Civil Surgeon KM Humayun Kabir, due to a lack of trained manpower, the health department has not been able to introduce ICUs in the hospital yet despite receiving the beds from a local MP.
"For the last few days, the number of covid-19 patients has increased. As the number of patients has increased, we have taken the initiative to convert the 50-bed unit into a 70-bed one. For this, 20 oxygen cylinders have been brought," he noted.
"We have also started the process of providing training to the required number of physicians for launching an ICU," he added.
Meanwhile, in the last 24 hours, 333 samples were tested in Bagerhat and 153 new Covid-19 cases were detected while one person died of the virus.
"The detection rate in the district is 46% but in Sadar upazila it's 56%. If the situation worsens, it will be much harder for us to provide treatment," said Dr KM Humayun Kabir.
The total number of cases in the district is 3,773 and 89 people have died.
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