Travel from India causes concern

a steady influx of Bangladeshis from the neighbouring country, the current global Covid hotspot.

Authorities, however, could not confirm yet if the latest Covid death was caused by the Indian variant of the coronavirus that was first detected on March 8 and has so far been found among 13 India returnees.

A total of 10,290 people have come back from India to Bangladesh after the country on April 26 suspended travel to and from India where a new variant of the virus emerged with unforeseen ferocity.

On Friday Bangladesh recorded 26 Covid deaths and 1,504 new cases.

‘A second India returnee has died today, though we don’t know yet if the death  was due to the Indian variant,’ Institute of Epidemiology and Disease Control Research director Tahmina Shirin told New Age on Friday.

The first India returnee died in the capital, who had comorbidities, immediately after recovering from Covid-19 caused by the Indian covid variant, according to the IEDCR.

Chuadanga civil surgeon ASM Maruf Hasan identified the second India returnee as Sakib, 17, a cancer patient who had returned to Bangladesh on May 9 after treatment.

‘We have preserved samples to find out whether the boy had contracted the Indian Covid variant,’ said Maruf.

Land port authorities and IEDCR officials claimed that those who travelled legally had to undertake a mandatory 14-day quarantine under police supervision at government-fixed hospitals.

The mandatory quarantine has strictly been implemented except for one or two isolated incidents of returnees escaping, they said.

On Friday 570 people entered Bangladesh from India, mostly patients who had gone to the country to seek treatment.

The daily number of India returnees increased after Eid-ul-Fitr. Three hundred and 13 people returned from India on May 17, followed by 366 on May 18, 445 on May 19 and 620 on May 20 through land borders. 

‘Escaped returnees might be a source of problem for us,’ said Tahmina.

But there is even a bigger cause for concern, she said, drawing attention to illegal travellers between the two countries along their long porous borders.

There are long stretches of land border that trespassers from both the countries usually use for illegal business and other purposes.

Directorate General of Health Services line director Robed Amin told New Age that the Indian strain of the coronavirus could wreak havoc in case it gets circulated unhindered.

‘We know that more coronavirus strains than one, including the Indian variant, are in circulation in the country and yet we are not following health guidelines,’ he said.

‘Authorities are trying to guard the border to prevent trespassing but we know that we can hardly control it with our limited capacity,’ said Robed.

On Friday the test positivity rate stood at 8.22 per cent as 18,294 people had their samples tested at government and private laboratories, said the daily update of the Directorate General of Health Services.

The test positivity rate was a little higher on the day compared to Thursday when the positivity rate was 7.5 per cent.

With the new figures, the number of Covid cases has reached 7,86,698 and deaths 12,310 since the first Covid cases were detected in the country on March 8, 2020.

So far 7,29,039 Covid patients have recovered, said the daily government update.

Of the 26 people who died in the past 24 hours, 19 were men and seven women.

Twenty-three of them died in government hospitals while three in private hospitals.

The highest 10 deaths were reported from Khulna division, followed by six deaths in Chattogram and four in Rajshahi. Dhaka recorded three deaths while Sylhet, Rangpur and Mymensingh divisions recorded one death each.

Fourteen of the deceased were aged above 60 years while eight were aged between 51 years and 60 years, two between 41 years and 50 years and another two below 40 years.

The country witnessed the first peak in its Covid situation in June-July 2020.

In January-February, the positivity rate dropped to 2.5–5 per cent.

The second peak in the country’s Covid infections started in March this year and April turned out to be the worst month in terms of lives lost and the spread of infections.

After showing a declining trend since April 17, the daily positivity rate again started an upward trend of late, especially since May 15,.

 In parts of Bangladesh, particularly in Teknaf and Ukhia of Cox’s Bazar, the positivity rate has reached up to 12 per cent, prompting local authorities to enforce stricter restrictions.

News Courtesy:

https://www.newagebd.net/article/138452/travel-from-india-causes-concern