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Unauthorised coronavirus testing kits can’t be used: Ministry
No unauthorised kits can be used for coronavirus test, said the Health and Family Welfare Ministry on Saturday.
Md Habibur Rahman Khan, additional secretary to the Health Services Division and convener of the media cell formed by the ministry, came up with the information while replying to a query from reporters about unauthorised kits available in the market during a briefing.
“No coronavirus testing kits without government’s approval will be accepted,” he said, adding that coronavirus test is being conducted under government arrangement only with approved kits following the instructions of the World Health Organization (WHO).
The government is working as per the WHO directives over rapid testing kits, the media cell chief said.
A number of 44 officials of the Health Ministry are monitoring the health services in all hospitals of the country to prevent the coronavirus, he said.
The government is also working to appoint another 2,000 doctors and 6,000 nurses, Habibur said, adding that two separate vehicles are there in every district for using in coronavirus testing process.
Meanwhile, Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury, one of the founders of Gonoshasthaya Kendra, on Saturday said they will hand over their coronavirus testing kits to the government formally on Sunday.
However, a representative of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, (BSMMU) received some testing kits on Saturday from Gonoshasthaya Kendra’s Dhanmondi office.
Gonoshasthaya Kendra has developed an “easy, effective and cheap” method to test coronavirus or Covid-19.
Youth held for ‘raping’ girl in Thakurgaon
Police have arrested a young man from Bochapur village in Sadar upazila for allegedly raping a young girl with a promise of marriage.
JUST confirms 12 new coronavirus cases
Jashore University of Science and Technology (JUST) on Saturday confirmed 12 new coronavirus cases from Jashore, Narail and Jhenaidah districts.
“We’ve found 12 people infected with the virus after testing 95 samples from Jashore, Jhenaidah, Narail, Magura and Chuadanga as of Friday,” said Dr Iqbal Kabir Jahid, director of Genome Centre and Chairman of Microbiology department of the university.
Of the new patients, nine are from Jashore, two from Jhenaidah and one is from Narail, he added.
Dr Iqbal also said they have already sent the test reports to the respective civil surgeons, Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) and other authorities concerned through email.
Meanwhile, Jashore Civil Surgeon Dr Sheikh Abu Shahin said they have been trying to identify the people who tested positive for the virus.
In the daily online bulletin on Saturday, Additional Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Prof Dr Nasima Sultana said coronavirus has spread to 60 districts in the country except Rangamati, Khagrachhari, Jhenidah and Satkhira.
Two siblings test positive for coronavirus in Cumilla
Two brothers who came in contact with one of their colleagues who died of coronavirus in Noakhali have tested positive for Covid-19 in Laksam upazila.
3482 people home quarantined in Bagerhat
A total 3,482 people are currently in home quarantine in different areas of nine upazilas in the district.
Besides, a total 2,832 people have completed their quarantine period, said Md Mizanur Rahman, additional superintendent of police.
He said 3,941 people returned home from abroad from March 1 to April 24. Most of them were returnees from India.
BDF says 324 doctors fighting coronavirus in Bangladesh get infected
The deadly coronavirus which has spread to 60 districts of the country, out of 64, has infected 324 physicians both at private and public hospitals as of Saturday, said Bangladesh Doctors Foundation (BDF), a forum of physicians.
“Among the infected doctors, 255 are in Dhaka division alone,” said Nirupam Das, the chief administrator of the foundation.
Of the total, 163 are from different government hospitals, 76 from private hospitals while 20 were shown in other category in the BDF data.
The BDF data show that 26 doctors were infected in Mymensingh division and all of them are from government hospitals while 12 doctors -- 11 from government hospitals and one from a private hospital -- were in Chattogram division.
Meanwhile, seven doctors in Khulna division, eight in Barishal, two in Sylhet and three in Rangpur division have so far been diagnosed with Covid-19.
Asked about the safety of doctors while treating Covid-19 patients, Dr Nirupam said there is no alternative to personal protective equipment (PPE), quality gowns, masks, gloves and goggles for doctors’ safety.
Bangladesh has so far confirmed 140 deaths and 4,998 coronavirus cases.
Additional Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Prof Dr Nasima Sultana in the daily health bulletin on Saturday informed that coronavirus has spread to 60 districts in the country except Rangamati, Khagrachhari, Jhenidah and Satkhira.
Global politicians, scholars call for int'l cooperation against COVID-19
The International Advisory Board of the Silk Road Think Tank Association has held a videoconference and released a statement, calling for strengthening international cooperation in fight against COVID-19.
Minor girl dies with diarrhoea, breathing problem at KMCH
A 16 months-old baby girl who had been suffering from diarrhoea and breathing problem died at Khulna Medical College Hospital (KMCH) on Saturday morning.
No new dengue case reported in last 4 days
No new dengue case was reported in the last four days till 8am on Saturday, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
According to the daily update from DGHS, one patient is treated at hospitals in the capital.
Since the beginning of this year, 291 dengue cases were reported. Of them, 290 had been discharged from hospitals.
Bangladesh experienced a massive dengue outbreak last year when 101,354 people were hospitalised. Of them, 101,037 made full recovery.
According to official figures, the mosquito-borne disease killed 179 people in 2019.
BLRI starts coronavirus testing
Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (BLRI) has started collecting samples from people for COVID-19 test at its laboratory on Saturday.