The forgotten ones in our fight against coronavirus
According to the latest update on March 14, at least 145,369 people were affected and 5,429 died due to the virus in 139 countries in the world
Idris Ali owns a tea stall in town hall market at Mohammadpur in Dhaka. He works from 8am in the morning till 11pm every night to support his family of six members.
The ongoing panic over coronavirus has also affected Idris Ali's business.
His customers have become conscious and are avoiding road-side tea stalls in fear of contracting the virus as his roadside shop is exposed to dust and germs and has no source of clean water or hand washing facilities.
This correspondent asked him if he has taken any precautions against coronavirus, he laughed and said, "No virus will be able to survive in my Bangladeshi body!"
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He was seen wiping the store with a rag that he has brought from home, but it is not always possible for him to wash his hands.
Idris is not the only person who is exposed to the risk of contracting and spreading coronavirus.
Many like him have little or no preparation to fight the Wuhan virus that has been declared as pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11.
Bangladesh declared its first three cases of coronavirus on March 8.
According to the latest update on March 14, at least 145,369 people were affected and 5,429 died due to the virus in 139 countries in the world.
Bangladesh is a densely populated country where 20.5 percent of the population live below the poverty line, according to the 2019 statistics provided by Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
These people have little or no access to clean water or hygiene facilities and therefore are at a greater risk of contracting the virus.
Dhaka is one of the most populated cities around the world and is home to over six lakh slum dwellers. In addition, a huge number of rough sleepers spend nights on footpaths, railway stations and stadiums.
While one of the precautions against coronavirus is maintaining cleanliness, the situation is not in favour for this vast population.
The novel coronavirus is extremely contagious and therefore if one person is infected in these densely populated slums, it can spread like wildfire.
On March 11, the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) authorities said two of the three patients in Bangladesh has been fully cured. However, masses are still panicked.
The panic has resulted in hoarding hygiene products such as tissue papers, liquid soaps, sanitisers and masks.
As a result the prices of these products have also increased.
Asked if the authorities have taken any preventive measures to protect the poor from contracting the virus, Prof Dr Meerjady Sabrina Flora, director of IEDCR said that no special steps have been taken for them yet.
"The disease is contagious, and the poor are more prone to be affected. But no separate steps have been taken for them yet", she said adding that they are running the same campaign for everyone in the country.
"For some of them, home quarantine may not possible, but they will be admitted to hospitals if anything happens," she also said.
Dr Meerjady added that the preparations are satisfactory and hoped that the authorities are ready to handle any kind of potential outbreak.
