Common people not getting COVID-19 treatment: BNP

Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Saturday alleged that the COVID-19 infection had spread across the country terribly due to the government’s negligence and irresponsible behaviour while the common people were not getting treatment in what he said a discriminatory healthcare system.

Sharing his party’s observation and information collected by the party’s national coronavirus monitoring cell in a virtual press conference from his capital’s Uttara residence, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that people did not believe in the government information on coronavirus infections and deaths as ‘the information does not match the reality’.

He said that the deaths of the people having COVID-19 symptoms were not counted into the coronavirus death figure by the government and that the media reported at least 1,258 such deaths so far.

‘There is discrimination in the healthcare system. Common and poor people are not getting treatment even after travelling to one hospital after another,’ he said and added that they were dying in ambulances or on roads while it could be known that ruling party leaders had kept ICU beds in hospitals booked. 

‘Only VIP and ruling party men are getting treatment at hospitals,’ he alleged.

He said that many were seen shifted to better hospitals by air ambulances though ensuring healthcare for all was the responsibility of the government. ‘The government failed to do so.’

The BNP leader stressed the need for enforcing countrywide or area-based strict lockdown to prevent infections, providing adequate and quality health protection equipment for frontline fighters, expanding test and treatment facilities to all the districts, providing adequate food to poor people, distributing relief materials using the army personnel and providing correct information on infections and deaths to tackle the situation.

The BNP leader said that a total of 56 BNP leaders and activists had died of COVID-19 and at least 121 others were infected so far.

He said that the BNP and its front and associate organisations had provided food assistance to 51.81 lakh families in two months until May 20 and at least 2.07 crore people benefitted from the food aid.

Fakhrul criticised the government for not giving health and social safety sectors highest priority in the budget amid the COVID-19 crisis.

The BNP leader alleged that the health sector had collapsed in the past 12 years due to massive corruption.

He said that at least 87 people were arrested for publishing information about COVID-19 and 473 others, including journalists, were arrested for publishing reports of misappropriating relief, food adulteration and COVID-19 in news and social media.

He alleged that the government was trying to gag people’s voices using the Digital Security Act.

The BNP leader alleged that the people were not getting adequate chance for COVID-19 tests and, referring news reports, said that about one crore people had contacted to health directorate for coronavirus tests but only 4.42 lakh people could be able to have the tests.

‘That means, only four per cent people could be able to have their tests done and the remaining 96 percent were deprived of treatment,’ he said.

He said that if there were more tests, the number of infections would have been much higher and alleged that the government was hiding the number of deaths and infections.

BNP standing committee member and the party’s national coronavirus monitoring cell convener Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku and party vice-chairman AZM Zahid Hossain also spoke.

Until Saturday, 84,379 people were infected with and 1,139 died of COVID-19 across the country.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net