Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has donated emergency Covid-19 medical equipment and face masks to Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Dedicated Covid-19 Hospital to meet the health needs of patients and help save lives. BGMEA President Faruque Hassan handed over 15 German-made high flow nasal cannula with BiPAP and 50,000 masks to DNCC Mayor Md. Atiqul Islam at a programme held at the hospital on Tuesday. BGMEA Vice President Md. Shahidullah Azim, Vice President (Finance) Khandoker Rafiqul Islam, Directors Md. Mohiuddin Rubel, Rajiv Chowdhury and Director of DNCC Covid-19 Hospital Brigadier General AKM Nasiruddin were present at the handover ceremony. READ: BGMEA wants end of RMG goods theft on highways

It will not be possible to increase the number of beds all too often to accommodate the growing Covid-19 patients, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said on Thursday. “We’ve managed to tackle 10 times more patients this time as we raised the number of beds from 2,500 to 7,000 in a short period of time, but it’s not possible to do it so frequently,” the minister said. Zahid Maleque came up with the remark while addressing a virtual discussion arranged on the occasion of National Nutrition Day. Also read: DNCC Market Hospital to get 200 new ICU beds: Health Minister To avoid the ‘third’ wave of the Coronavirus pandemic, people of the country must be more conscious, Zahid Maleque. The second wave of Coronavirus hit the country as people failed to follow the health protocols properly, the minister said, adding: “We must become more aware to escape the third wave of the deadly virus.” Currently, the second wave of Coronavirus is underway which is much deadlier compared to the first one, Maleque said.  Also read: Covid-19 surge lays bare another crisis: Scant ICU beds and specialists “Now we must detect the cause behind the emergence of the second wave. We’ve restricted social functions, public gatherings and rallies to contain the virus,” he said. The infection rate will come down if the restrictions are followed properly for a few days, he hoped. Covid situation in Bangladesh Ninety-eight more people died of Covid-19 in 24 hours until Thursday morning amid a sharp rise in the number of deaths from the deadly virus. Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh sees 98 more deaths, 4,014 new infections The virus also infected 4,014 others during the period, the Directorate General of Health Services said in a handout. With the latest figure, the mortality rate remained at 1.46 percent while the infection rate declined to 14.63 percent from Wednesday’s 15.07 percent.

The country’s largest Covid-19 dedicated hospital with 1,000 beds was inaugurated at Dhaka North City Corporation's Mohakhali market on Sunday (April 18, 2021). Health Minister Zahid Maleque opened the hospital as the chief guest in the morning. Read DNCC Market Hospital to get 200 new ICU beds: Health Minister The demand for ICU beds is rising after the second wave of Coronavirus hit the country. He said the Covid-dedicated hospital was completed in 20 days at the directive of the prime minister. The hospital has 212 ICU beds, 250 beds in high dependency units (HDUs), 438 Covid-19 isolation rooms and 50 emergency beds, the minister said. Also read: Covid-19 in Bangladesh: Death toll hits another new high of 102

Director General of the Health Services Professor ABM Khurshid Alam has slammed the media on recent reporting over scarcity of resources in the health sector, particularly dedicated Covid-19 hospitals. While healthcare workers and employees of the healthcare sector are risking their lives to fight Covid-19, "some media" are shattering their morale through "illogical criticism," Khurshid Alam said Wednesday at a virtual press conference from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). 2000-bed field hospital did not 'vanish' About recent reports on the Bashundhara Field Hospital, set up as an isolation centre for 2000 patients at the height of the pandemic in 2020, the DG said: "Running the hospital cost more than Tk60 lakh per month. But it had only 15 to 20 patients. "The hospital had 400-450 staff including doctors and nurses. Also, more than a thousand officers and employees, including security personnel, would work there," he said. Also read: 2,000-bed coronavirus isolation unit at ICCB to be opened today "As the hospital had a low number of patients, it became difficult to bear the cost. So, we had to shut the hospital down. We shifted the equipment from there to hospitals across the country." Facilities expanded at DNCC's Covid-19 hospital The DGHS chief also said the Covid-19 Hospital set up in a DNCC market premises in Mohakhali was also wrongly presented in the media, after it was expanded to add 900 general beds. The news was carried out without making any inquiry with the authorities on their plans, he alleged. "Media reported that we were wasting public money to set up a hospital instead of improving the previous one. But we have a 200-bed ICU ward in the previous establishment of the DNCC Isolation Centre." Also read: Work on 2,000-bed isolation centre at ICCB underway "And we have installed 900 more general beds on the nine floors with oxygen supply to each bed. It was not possible to accommodate everything in the previous set-up." A visibly upset Khurshid said, "We have considered journalists as co-fighters from the beginning in the battle against Covid-19." "But some criticisms, levelled against us, in the media are shattering our morale. Criticisms follow mistakes, but if someone misleads people through them without knowing or understanding or looking for details, we cannot be okay with that," Khurshid said. Also read: 2,000-bed isolation unit being set up at Bashundhara Convention Centre: Minister "Doctors, nurses, health department, health ministry and employees of the healthcare sector have been working non-stop, risking their lives." "Please do not confuse people and crush our morale; stand with us. We can be wrong, but if anyone brings the mistakes to our attention, we can correct ourselves," Khurshid said.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in collaboration with Sadar Hospital and the government of Bangladesh, inaugurated the expansion of medical services for patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms in the Cox’s Bazar district Sadar Hospital on Monday.

The government on Thursday dropped more hospitals from the list of Covid-19 dedicated hospitals due to the declining number of patients in the capital.

Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Wednesday said that fees for coronavirus tests will be reduced soon to increase the number of tests.