Covid19 -Bangladesh

বাংলাToggle navigation Print Friendly and PDF COVID-19 tests trend down in Bangladesh. That’s bad news Obaidur Masum, Senior Correspondent bdnews24.com Published: 2020-07-14 22:18:43 BdST bdnews24 Samples are stored inside a plastic bag at Government Unani and Ayurvedic Medical College and Hospital in Dhaka’s Mirpur. These will be sent to a government-designated laboratory for testing. Photo: Asif Mahmud Ove PreviousNext The number of sample tests for novel coronavirus infection has fallen in Bangladesh but the laboratories conducting the tests have grown paradoxically, betraying a fall in the rate of confirmed cases. From Jun 30 to July 2, between 16,000 and 19,000 samples were tested daily, returning about 3,600 to 4,000 positive results. By comparison, the number did not exceed 13,000 in any of the last three days with the daily caseload ranging between 2,600 and 3,200. One of the reasons for fewer tests is the fee imposed by the government for sample tests. The second reason is the scrapping of second and third tests after recovery from the disease, according to the Directorate General of Health Services. Experts say Bangladesh is still grappling with the pandemic and the testing should not be allowed to drop under the current circumstances. Samples are stored inside a plastic bag at Government Unani and Ayurvedic Medical College and Hospital in Dhaka’s Mirpur. These will be sent to a government-designated laboratory for testing. Photo: Asif Mahmud Ove Samples are stored inside a plastic bag at Government Unani and Ayurvedic Medical College and Hospital in Dhaka’s Mirpur. These will be sent to a government-designated laboratory for testing. Photo: Asif Mahmud Ove Novel coronavirus infection was first reported in China’s Wuhan on Dec 31, 2019. Bangladesh began running COVID-19 tests on Jan 21. The data of sample tests done by DGHS show an upward trend from January to June when the number of patients and sample test laboratories increased. The number of confirmed cases drops in line with dropping virus tests, which is why the real situation is not reflected, said Prof Be-Nazir Ahmed, former director of communicable disease control at DGHS. That hampers the management of the COVID-19 crisis. “We can’t isolate the infected patients who are not identified. Then there’ll be new patients and patient clusters will increase as well.” “More people will move around in times of the Eid-ul-Azha and clusters of patients will spread the contagion,” Ahmed said. Prof Md Nazrul Islam, former vice-chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, told bdnews24.com that from the very beginning, they had been suggesting 20,000 countrywide tests a day to get the first picture of the epidemic’s real scale and speed.