Amid the growing Covid-19 cases, health experts fear that Bangladesh's frontier districts await a serious healthcare crisis as most hospitals and health complexes there are ill-equipped to cope with any worsening situation, reports UNB.
They also voiced frustration as local administrations in different frontier districts are "buying time" in enforcing strict lockdowns and halting the inter-district transport services to control the virus locally.
They said the government should focus on preventing the spread of the virus transmission to other areas from the frontier ones and enhancing the number of hospital beds, treatment facilities, equipment, and ensuring an adequate supply of oxygen, high-flow nasal cannula and necessary medicines at hospitals and upazila health complexes in the bordering areas witnessing a surge in the virus infection rate.
Covid cases are growing alarmingly in Chapainawabganj, Rajshahi, Satkhira, Khulna, Kushtia, Jashore, Naogaon and Natore since the last week of May apparently for the prevalence of the highly transmissible Indian variant.
According to a research conducted in India, one person carrying 1.617 known as the Indian variant, can infect about 406 people in just one month.
Though the government has already empowered local administrations to enforce lockdowns in the virus-affected districts, only Chapainawabganj has been put under lockdown so far.
Benapole land port is located in Jashore district through which 60 to 70 passengers enter the country every day on average from India and the 'Indian variant' has already been found in some returnees from India.
The number of Covid patients is growing in the district alarmingly with around 24 percent infection rate, according to official sources.
There is a health complex in Navaranupazila, 14 km away from the land port, but it has neither any Covid unit nor adequate facilities to deal with Covid patients. Covid patients are being treated at the 250-bed Jashore General Hospital, but it has no central oxygen system. Cylinders are being used to give oxygen support to Covid patients.
Though the movement of passengers remained halted through Bhomra Land Port in Satkhira, the virus infection rate in the district is around 30 percent. The district has only 35 only isolation beds and 88 general beds for the treatment of Corona patients, officials here said.
Satkhira Medical College Hospital has a central oxygen supply system but Sadar Hospital has no such facility. The district has eight ICU beds and 38 high-flow nasal cannulas for the treatment of corona patients.
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