Deaths trot up in last seven days

The last seven days, since May 18. have been the most dangerous of the ongoing pandemic as the number of deaths and cases are on the rise – with little fluctuation.

There is no sign of the curve flattening even 77 days after the first detection of novel coronavirus cases – which is unusual compared to the records of the worst-hit European countries such as Italy, Spain and France.

European countries were able to slow down the virus in two months since their first cases were detected. Only the UK took 70 days to slow down the virus' course.

In those countries, new cases fell within two to three weeks of enforcing shutdowns. Massive testing efforts helped them to detect cases and isolate patients – resulting in flattening the curve.

Bangladesh's first Covid-19 case was detected on March 8 while the first death was reported on March 18. After 77 days, the country recorded the highest single day cases of 1,873 yesterday. Today the deaths reached a new high of 28 – although infection number decreased because of fewer tests being carried out than the previous day.

The shutdown has also been proved ineffective here. Even after two months of the shutdown, new cases are spiking in Bangladesh.

Take the data of the last seven days since May 18. The number of deaths exceeded 20 on six days. Only on May 20, the number fell to 16.

The same trend is seen in cases of infection. Of the seven days since May 18, an average of 1,500 cases were recorded on six days except on May 19 when the number dropped to 1,251.

None can now say for sure when the curve will flatten.

Moreover, health experts fear that cases may spike after Eid holidays as people were allowed to travel to villages from the capital, Dhaka – the epicenter of the virus.