The port city of Narayanganj was virtually deserted as the local administration put the entire district under ‘lockdown’ from Wednesday morning in an effort to curb coronavirus.

The decision to lock down the district was taken on Tuesday as the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) has identified it as the hotspot of coronavirus transmission.

A few shops at kitchen markets in the city were seen open while others remained shut since Tuesday night, said Additional Superintendent of Narayanganj Police Mostafizur Rahman. “Everything remains shut as per the government order and we’re on a hard line over the issue,” he said.

However, emergency services like medical care and supply chain remained out of the purview of the restrictions.

Wishing anonymity, an official of a law enforcement agency said some areas in Sadar and Siddhirganj upazilas, including Fatullah, were found to be most vulnerable spots for coronavirus transmission.

On Tuesday night, an ISPR release said the entire district of Narayanganj would be put under complete lockdown from Wednesday and it would remain in force until further notice.

Civil administration, Armed Forces and other law enforcement agencies in coordination with local representatives would jointly work to this end, said the release.

Bangladesh on Tuesday reported 41 more coronavirus cases, including 15 from Narayanganj.

The government has appointed Benazir Ahmed, director general of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), as the new inspector general of police (IGP).

The Home Ministry issued a notification on Wednesday in this regard.

Benazir Ahmed will replace Dr M Javed Patwary.

Besides, Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, additional inspector general of Criminal Investigation Department (CID), has been made new chief of Rab.

As per the notification, their appointment will come into effect on April 15.
 

A young man died from fever and breathing complications at Bakhtarpur village in Doarabazar upazila on Tuesday night.
 
The deceased, aged around 22, was a brick kiln worker in Narsingdi district.
 
Sonia Sultana, upazila nirbahi officer, said the youth had been suffering from fever and cold for the last few days. He died at his home around 8:30pm on Tuesday.
 
Samples were collected from the deceased and two houses were kept under lockdown, she said.

An elderly man, who returned from a Tablighi congregation, died in quarantine at Uttar Milikbhagha village in Bagha upazila on Wednesday.
 
The deceased was identified as Abul Kalam Azad, 65, of the village.
 
Family sources said Azad returned home after attending Tablighi congregation in Kushtia on April 5. Before going to Kushtia, he also went to India and joined a Tabligh congregation.

The devotee went on self-isolation at a local madrasah where he died around 6am.
 
Deputy Director of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital Dr Saiful Ferdous said samples were taken from the body to ascertain whether he was infected with coronavirus.

Save the Children has urgently called for international assistance to help Bangladesh meet a surge in demand for ventilators to cope with the COVID-19 outbreak and avert a humanitarian disaster in the country.

Most of the country’s intensive care beds and ventilators are in the major urban centers, including capital Dhaka, making it difficult for remote communities to access, it said.

There are reportedly 1,769 ventilators in Bangladesh at this moment or in the pipeline, which means an average of one ventilator for every 93,273 people, said the Save the Children in a media release.

The organisation expressed concern for the estimated 3.3 million people who live in Cox’s Bazar district, one million of whom are Rohingyas living in cramped conditions with limited access to adequate hygiene and health facilities.

The scarcity of ventilators in the district means lives will be lost when COVID-19 starts to spread more widely in the community.

Save the Children called for a single global plan to help confront one of the biggest threats to global health and security in modern times.

This plan must be underpinned by debt relief, increased financing for public health, safety nets for the most vulnerable, and effective coordination.

“At present, it is difficult for Bangladesh to meet the expected surge in demand for ventilators to help respond to the COVID-19 outbreak,” said Dr Shamim Jahan, Deputy Country Director for Save the Children in Bangladesh. “We are in this together - no single country can confront COVID-19 alone, even the richest and most powerful among us.”

“It is therefore essential that world leaders – in particular the G20 countries – commit to a coordinated global plan underpinned by debt relief. We also urge the Bangladesh government to engage the public and private sectors urgently to secure ventilators for COVID-19 patients,” Dr. Jahan added.

“Without access to intensive care facilities in Cox’s Bazar, patients in critical condition may have to be transported to neighboring Chittagong district more than 90 miles away, further increasing the risk to them and others,” said Athena Rayburn, Save the Children’s Rohingya Response Advocacy Manager.

“Ventilators and people trained to operate them are urgently needed to protect the host communities and Rohingya refugees to avert a humanitarian disaster. Children are at serious risk of not only contracting the virus, but also of being orphaned or neglected if family members become infected or die,” Rayburn added.

Save the Children is ramping up its existing programs in Bangladesh.

In the Rohingya camps, host communities and other districts in Bangladesh, the organization is delivering critical supplies to health workers, restoring hygiene facilities, providing cash support to low -income households and providing families with information on how to protect themselves from the virus.