Impact of Covid in Bangladesh
Although COVID-19 has provided an opportunity for the earth’s environment to be restored, its impact on every area, including social, economic, agricultural, industrial, education, and health, is significant. The ongoing COVID-19 epidemic has caused an unparalleled calamity in Bangladesh, jeopardizing recent significant gains in household income and poverty reduction.
Since March 2020, Bangladesh has been experiencing multiple stages of COVID-19 pandemic not only impacting the health sector with the infections & fatalities. The COVID-19 induced containment measures, especially lockdowns, have intensified the needs of vulnerable groups especially in informal sectors in terms of their livelihood. Many people have lost their jobs and income sources, resulting in an increase in unemployment and poverty in both urban and rural areas throughout the country. Those who have less/no access to social protection, smaller savings or limited alternative sources of income both in urban and rural settings are the most affected ones.
Present situation of COVID-19 in Bangladesh
The first case of COVID-19 in Bangladesh was identified on March 11, 2020 whereas the first death was confirmed on March 18, 2020. In the country, from 3 January 2020 to 8 April 2022, there have been 1,951,911 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 29,123 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 4 April 2022, a total of 252,731,398 vaccine doses have been administered.
Covid Statistics
The Recovery rate is 96.8% of all cases, while Fatality rate is 1.5% of all cases and Daily Confirmed Cases is 11648 Per Million Population
Demographic Distribution
More than half of those infected are between the ages of 21 and 40, with persons over the age of 50 accounting for more than 65 percent of deaths. Male infection and mortality rates are substantially greater (>70%) than females.
Government Measures
The Government of Bangladesh set up 112 ICUs at the start of the COVID-19 identification process. Later, the DGHS (Directorate General of Health Services) expanded the number of ICU beds for coronavirus patients across the country to 1316 (as of August 25, 2021). More than half of the 1316 ICU beds are at private institutions. According to a DGHS bulletin issued on August 17, there are 6334 beds in 46 coronavirus-dedicated hospitals and clinics in the capital, with 4272 in government hospitals and 2062 in private hospitals.
Impact on Healthcare
The virus was confirmed to have spread to Bangladesh in March 2020. The first three known cases were reported on 8 March 2020 by the country’s epidemiology institute, Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR). After that, the Bangladesh Government imposed a lockdown from 26 March to 30 March to control the spread of the COVID-19 Virus. Health experts suggested poor adherence to health safety rules and health care seeking behaviour are the root cause of the surge in the virus infection rate in the country.
Lack of Hospital Beds
Bangladesh healthcare facilities encountered huge difficulties for treating patients since the outbreak of COVID-19. Serious drawbacks were found in hospitals regarding the availability of ventilator support facilities to treat severe acute respiratory syndrome. According to WHO standards, a minimum of 3 beds per 1000 is required, but in Bangladesh (with a size population of 163,046,173) hospital beds per 1000 population is 0.8 and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds per 100,000 population is 0.7. Bangladesh has grave deficiencies of doctors, nurses and medical staff members. According to WHO, Bangladesh’s doctor-to-patient ratio is 0.526 per 10,000, almost half of the WHO recommended standard.
Nutrition
COVID-19 and the containment measures that have been adopted continue to have an influence on the health and livelihood sectors, as well as having a rippling effect on Bangladesh’s nutrition situation. According to survey results, the nutritional service delivery has been disrupted by the COVID19 pandemic. According to survey replies, the primary reasons for cancelling nutritional screenings were anxiety of coming to hospitals, a lack of nutritionists, and a longer wait time for appointments.
Covid-19 Testing
Bangladesh has consistently shown one of the lowest test rates per capita in the world. Throughout 2020 and the first half of 2021, routine testing was never adopted in Bangladesh.
The number of tests conducted have typically been between approximately 10 to 18 thousand per day, with the number of tests increasing as infections surge during a wave but then decreasing after. As of 16 July 2021, approximately 7.2 million tests had been conducted, corresponding to one test per 23 people – the lowest in South Asia after Afghanistan.
Covid-19 Vaccination
Bangladesh began the administration of COVID-19 vaccines on 27 January 2021, focusing initially on a pilot program of 500 health workers, while mass vaccination started on 7 February 2021. 75.26 % of the population has been vaccinated with at least one dose, while 68.9% of the population has been fully vaccinated.
Economic and Social Impact
The pandemic has taken a major toll on practically all sectors of the economy, most notably causing a 16.93 percent drop in exports, a 17 percent drop in imports, and a 66 percent drop in average income for all small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) in 2020 compared to 2019. Only remittance inflows have increased by 11 percent this year, which is unusual.
Unemployment
The COVID-19 epidemic has had a significant influence on family and individual wages in Bangladesh, with around 13% of individuals being jobless, with women in informal employment being more likely than males to have their working hours reduced; Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies predicts that national poverty would rise by 25.13 percent (BIDS).
Repatriation of Migrant Workers
The introduction of lock-down measures, economic declines and reduction in global mobility across the world has severely impacted Bangladeshi migrant workers. It is thought that around ten million Bangladeshis work overseas, especially across the middle east. Thousands of these workers have been forced to return to Bangladesh, largely because of job lay-offs. Most of these workers have struggled to find work in Bangladesh on their return, with 70 per cent unemployed according to an International Organisation for Migration report published in August 2020.
Conclusion
As the coronavirus outbreak spreads, many countries are implementing non-therapeutic preventive measures such as travel bans, remote office activities, country lockdown, and, most importantly, social distancing, which is difficult in Bangladesh due to the country’s lower-middle-income economy and one of the world’s densest populations.
With quick, supportive, and empathetic engagement from the government, people, and health specialists, as well as foreign help, the country can reduce the effect of the epidemic. While the government must maintain the lockdown at all costs, it must also enhance its testing and healthcare facilities. A steady supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare professionals must be maintained. Above all, innovative and timely steps implemented with adequate coordination may aid the country’s battle against the deadly illness. Individual citizen initiatives, direct engagement of the nation’s public health specialists, and foreign assistance are all urgently needed to alleviate the situation.
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Sources:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S277288382100011X
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_Bangladesh
http://103.247.238.92/webportal/pages/covid19-vaccination-update.php
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