Editorial Desk :
Absence of intensive care units (ICU) and inadequate high-flow oxygen support at public hospitals in 31 districts high risk of Covid-19 transmission has become a matter of serious concern. Such support services for a critical corona patient can be a matter of life and death, and health experts have put the blame squarely on the government for not being ready despite getting a long one-year to prepare.
With hospitals running out of ICU beds and oxygen support, coming weeks might be more dangerous, said experts, warning that the virus is in an incubation period and may spread fast infecting more people in the next two weeks. Finding a bed in the coronavirus unis of hospitals has become a Herculean task for the family of a patient. Out of nearly 3,500 beds in Covid units, 2876 beds were full on Thursday. Although some beds were shown vacant, when contacted the hospital authorities said those were occupied. And the most worrisome
 matter for doctors to treat the patients is that the infection is more severe than last year and previous treatments are found not working effectively.
According to media reports, a World Bank-aided initiative to install ICU beds and ventilators and setting up of a 1,500-bed isolation centre at the Mohakhali Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Market has been stalled amid allegations of irregularities. Now it will proceed on an emergency basis and its isolation centre will be operated under the Armed Forces Division. In March last year, the government had also planned to install central oxygen plants in 36 government hospitals. But the designated agency equipped only 14 hospitals with plantd so far.
Meanwhile, most businesses were caught off-guard in the latest surge in infections and deaths from coronavirus. Apparel factories, which have the largest concentration of manufacturing workforce, are concerned and focusing more on health safety measures enforced during the first outbreak last year.
Under the given circumstances, we need to declare a ‘national state of health emergency’ and form a high-powered committee to tackle the situation. The committee should have powers to take stern measures. We were supposed to take enough preparation by now but we haven’t. This is worrisome.
We shall repeat reminding the government that its activities are in short supply for facing the pandemic. Announcing restrictions is not enough if the problem is not met roundly through active vigilance. It is not also enough not to meet the hospital needs on an urgent basis. After the vaccination programme began it has to be accepted that death will fall but not the possibility of contamination of the virus. Still, medical facilities are needed to save lives. Doctors and health service workers working very hard but the government appears unmindful or not sufficiently active to be helpful. Hospital beds and ICU facilities must be made available without delay.
