Hospitals in Bangladesh unable to accommodate more COVID patients

Bangladesh records 215 more deaths, 10,126 infections, situation would be uncontrolled if infections surge again

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Hospitals in Bangladesh are no longer able to accommodate COVID-19 patients due to the Delta-driven coronavirus surge across the country, the health minister said on Thursday.

The coronavirus situation would be out of control if the prevailing pandemic situation gets worse, said Zahid Maleque.

“Hospitals in the country were no longer able to accommodate more patients. However, the government is trying its best to tackle the coronavirus situation,” the health minister said, addressing an event in Dhaka.

Maleque, however, claimed that the infections were declining for the last few days.

The government will recruit a fresh 4,000-5,000 medical technicians to address the pressure of patients in the pandemic, he added, saying: “We are setting up field hospitals apart from vaccinating citizens. And we are getting vaccines from sources.”

The minister informed that Bangladesh would receive 10 million doses of coronavirus vaccine this month to support its mass inoculation campaign.

Speaking at the same event, Director General of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) ABM Khurshid Alam said the number of hospitals cannot be expanded overnight and it is difficult to increase the number of hospital beds to treat the infected.

Meanwhile, in a new official notification on Thursday, the government said that from Aug. 19, all roads, waterways, and railway transportations will be operated in full capacity, whereas all tourist spots will reopen, and hotels and restaurants can run in full swing.

The government, however, said a fresh spell of pandemic restrictions would be imposed if the coronavirus situation worsens.

The country, earlier on Wednesday, relaxed the over-month-long strict lockdown restrictions amid surging COVID-19 infections.

The country of 170 million population recorded 215 more deaths and 10,126 new cases taking the total fatalities to 23,613 and the caseload to 1,396,868 with a 22.46% infection rate.

Bangladesh has so far administered 20 million vaccines, including 5 million second doses, according to the DGHS.

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