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In a state-run hospital near the Bangladesh-India border, Shahinur Islam prayed that his father would not become one of the more than 300 patients who died of the coronavirus in the hospital this month.
Hundreds of people had difficulty breathing in the COVID-19 treatment room like his father, while Islam waited in the crowded emergency room. Relatives went in and out, desperately looking for oxygen cylinders for their loved ones.
Crowds of COVID-19 patients and their worried family members are a new scene in the 1,200-bed Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, which serves border communities and was first discovered in neighbouring India. Overwhelmed by infectious delta variants.
On Tuesday, more than 450 COVID-19 patients were taken to the National Hospital in the major cities of Rajshahi District.
Islam said his entire family was shunned by people in the villages near the border in his hometown.
“The other villagers are afraid of us. They don’t talk to us. When they see us on the road, they will choose a different path,” he said. “We have suffered a lot.”
There are rising infection rates and congestion in hospitals across Bangladesh. Strict blockade Start on Thursday.
The government will deploy military personnel, paramilitary border guards and riot police to implement the initial one-week blockade.
US sends 2.5 million doses of vaccine
At the same time, a White House official told AFP that the United States began shipping 2.5 million doses of Moderna’s COVID vaccine to this South Asian country with a population of more than 160 million on Tuesday.
The official said that Bangladesh had “increased cases by 55% over a period of weeks, mainly caused by the Delta variant” and explained how the country included it on the emergency list. The delivery is expected to be completed within this week.
The Bangladeshi authorities warned that the rapid increase in border areas is accelerating the further spread of the virus to Bangladesh. The hospitals in Khulna and Rajshahi are overwhelmed.
“If people don’t abide by health and safety rules and don’t stay at home, this wave of epidemics in Bangladesh may be catastrophic. It spreads rapidly and causes more deaths,” the capital Dhaka government epidemiology, disease control and Said ASM Alamgir, chief scientific officer of the institute.
So far, many border areas in northern and southwestern Bangladesh have not been infected with COVID-19, so people lack antibodies against the virus. This, coupled with the large number of unvaccinated people, makes the population more vulnerable.
More than 4 million people have been fully immunized. Another 1.5 million people received one dose of the vaccine, but India stopped the Oxford-AstraZeneca import shortage, which made them uncertain when to receive the second dose.
Rajshahi Hospital also lacks the oxygen supply system needed by critically ill patients because it is treating more and more patients with worryingly low oxygen levels.
The high-flow nasal cannula provides stable and continuous oxygen to these patients, but government hospitals in border areas are forced to switch to portable oxygen cylinders.
“Oxygen cylinders alone cannot manage them properly. If we can’t provide them with a central oxygen supply line, God bless them, the number of casualties may increase,” said Brigadier General Shamim Yazdani, the hospital director.
Since March last year, this South Asian country has confirmed more than 900,000 cases, of which at least 14,300 have died. Experts say that the actual number may be higher.
According to the Ministry of Health, the daily number of infections reached a record 8,364 on Monday, almost twice the number of the previous week. The highest death toll from the pandemic was reported on Sunday at 119, and another 112 deaths were reported on Tuesday.
Experts are preparing for the situation to deteriorate further in the coming weeks.
The surge in cases and vaccine uncertainty prompted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government to double up on restrictive measures. The restrictions began in phases on Monday, and then all economic activities will be stopped during the strict nationwide lockdown that began on Thursday.
It is expected that thousands of people have Trying to escape Dhaka Since last weekend, buses and ferry terminals have been crowded, while ignoring public health measures such as maintaining social distancing.
Full lock-in may be the only way to slow down variants, which constitutes the biggest risk to date. Alamgir said: “If we can implement a strict shutdown as planned, we will be able to avoid disaster.” “Let us look forward to the best results.”
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