Covid-19: We can’t let our guards down

It is again time to get serious about mask-wearing, social-distancing and hand-washing, as the Covid-19 cases are surging and the death toll is steadily increasing. The Covid-19 challenge is not as done and dusted as many had been led to believe. There has been an increase in the positivity rate in the country in the last several days. What is more worrying is that more infected people are succumbing to the disease. According to a report published in The Business Post on Tuesday 12 people died infected with the coronavirus on July 4. The report states that this is the highest number of deaths from the deadly virus since March 5, when 13 people died from Covid-19. Several health sector experts have told The Business Post that considering the positivity rate in the past two weeks, it can be considered that Bangladesh has reached the fourth wave.

Experts have said that two Omicron sub-variants--BA.4 and BA.5--are probably fuelling the fresh spike in Covid infections like in some other countries in the world.

With infections remaining below 1.0 per cent and the mortality rate at zero for quite some time, people were in a relaxed mood and engaged in normal economic activities. Hardly one per cent of the population were wearing masks and maintaining other health protocols, as advised by the directorate general of health services.

The number of people getting infected and dying is yet to reach alarming levels. However the trend is worrisome. The Covid-19 positivity rate of recorded on Monday was 16.51 per cent. The second-largest religious festival of the Muslim holy Eid-ul-Azha is just around the corner. The movement and mobilization of a huge number of people across the country take place during the event. In a situation marked by a rise in the rate of Covid infections, this may well prove to be a risky affair. The coming weeks could see exponential growth in daily Covid-19 cases as the community transmission may spread.

However, provided prudent measures are taken there is no need to press the panic button just yet. In a set of instructions recently, the Cabinet Division ordered people to maintain physical distancing and follow the other health rules properly following recommendations by a national committee of experts. The higher ups of the government have also urged the media to publish content to inspire people to follow the health protocols.

On a positive note, public health experts believe that the new wave is unlikely to be as virulent as the previous ones since a very large number of people have some sort of antibodies gained either by infection or vaccination. Around 2,000 hospital beds are ready to treat the Covid-19 patients. People’s awareness about maintaining health safety rules and wearing masks is now necessary to tackle the situation and contain the transmission. Also, there are reasons to believe that a large number of Bangladeshis infected by the virus have developed herd immunity.

The recent surge in Covid-19 cases proves that the pandemic is far from over. Vaccines remain the most important tool in fighting this fourth wave. The authorities concerned have to to analyse the data of the people contracting the virus now. If it is found that most of those who have contracted the virus in recent times have not been vaccinated or have taken one or two doses or have not taken the booster dose, then we should emphasis on the vaccination drive.

It is noteworthy that Bangladesh has come through the previous waves of pandemic not unscathed, but not as badly hit as it might have been. As a matter of fact, Bangladesh has been widely acclaimed as a success story in combatting the coronavirus pandemic. The authorities concerned have to avoid any knee jerk reactions. There is no place for any complacency, but Bangladeshis are a resilient lot in the face of any adversity.