Experts sceptical of proper home quarantine in Bangladesh

About 417 Bangladeshis returned from Italy on Saturday and Sunday and most of them were released on condition that they put themselves in self-isolation as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

But public health experts said that people were showing a marked indifference to know about and follow the guidelines during home isolation, exposing the whole nation to the risk of the highly contagious coronavirus while Europe turned into the new epicentre of the disease.

‘Maintaining proper quarantine at home is very difficult in the social context of Bangladesh,’ said World Health Organisation former regional adviser Muzaherul Huq.

‘The government should have ensured institutional quarantine of all who are coming from abroad for 14 days as a precautionary measure to prevent spread of coronavirus,’ he said.

The government is saying that people who would not be in self-isolation for 14 days after returning from abroad would face legal action.

But concerns grow as the government’s mechanism to monitor them is lacking, said public health experts.

Bangladesh on Saturday announced ban on travellers from European countries except England with effect from 12:01am Monday for two weeks.

On Sunday, at least 142 Bangladeshis returned from Italy, the hardest-hit European country.

On Monday, 275 others entered the country from Italy in three separate flights, officials said.

After their return, they were taken to the Hajj camp near the Dhaka airport for screening and around 40 people were then quarantined by the government in Gazipur while the rest were released on condition that they would go for self-isolation at their homes.

Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research director Meerjady Sabrina Flora said Monday that 2,314 people were now in home-quarantine across the country.

She said that they were allowing returnees to go for home quarantine only after it was found that they arrived in good health.

But if anyone violated the mandatory 14-day quarantine at home would be punished, Meerjady said.

She said that local administration and public representatives were monitoring them if they violated the government directives of mandatory home quarantine.

World Health Organisation former regional adviser Muzaherul Huq said that people were not aware about the guideline for home quarantine.

‘People in self-isolation need to completely isolate themselves from family members and others and remain in a separate room,’ he said.

‘All community people are at the risk of exposing to the coronavirus if any infected person mingled with the community people,’ he continued.

Muzaherul said that the health system is not at all prepared to tackle a pandemic like coronavirus.

‘We should have been more cautious before releasing anyone on the belief that they will put themselves in self-isolation,’ he said.

The World Health Organisation last week characterised the coronavirus situation as a global pandemic. At least 137 countries were already affected with the novel virus, killing over 5,600 people and infecting nearly 1.5 lakh others globally.

So far five people in Bangladesh came down with the disease COVID-19.

Three people, who were confirmed on March 8 to have been infected with the new virus after their return from Italy, were declared virus-free on Sunday. They were released from hospital on the day, said IEDCR director Meerjady.

Another two people, one from Italy and another from Germany, were now at hospital.

Meerjady said both of them were male and aged between 29 and 40. The older patient has comorbidity like diabetes and hypertension. Their condition was now stable, she said on Sunday.

Health minister Zahid Maleque in a press conference after an inter-ministerial meeting at the secretariat, urged people not to take public transports if they have symptoms of coronavirus like fever and sneezing.

All passengers were urged to use hand sanitiser while travelling.

The factory owners were directed to ensure proper personal hygiene for workers.

The minister also requested all to avoid religious gathering and limit visiting mosques.

‘It will be beneficial if less number of people go to mosques now,’ he said.

Responding to questions, the health minister said the education ministry would take decision about the closure of educational institutions. ‘We have advised how to maintain personal hygiene and protect students and others from being infected,’ said the minister.  

Meanwhile, the cold disease patients are also facing ordeal when they go to hospital to seek treatment.

A pneumonia patient, who recently came from Bahrain, fled the Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital on Sunday as he was allegedly being harassed by the attendants of other patients, said the hospital director Uttam Barua.

‘The patient was being stalked by others as if he was an infected patient of COVID-19,’ he said, adding that the patient was diagnosed with pneumonia, not with COVID-19.  

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net