Immediate protection is a must for emergency service providers like physicians, nurses, journalists and law enforcers in the current Covid-19 infectious situation.
A good number of healthcare professionals, law enforcement agencies and other emergency service providers who are in the battleground fighting to halt the spread, have been infected with the deadly coronavirus.
Till Thursday, the country reported more than 7667 coronavirus cases with at least 168 people dead so far, mostly in the capital city.
However, more people are now testing positive in other cities and villages. Gradually the coronavirus positive patients are increasing in the country.
Of the total, more than seven percent are healthcare professionals. Every hour, on an average, three medical staff are getting infected while fighting the virus at both public and private hospitals across the country, a recent Bangladesh Doctors Foundation (BDF) statistics showed such an image on how physicians, as well as healthcare professionals, are handling things.
Until Tuesday, a total of 652 doctors and nurses working at different government and private hospitals across the country had been infected by the deadly virus in their fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, according to information provided by leading associations of doctors and nurses in the country.
On the other hand, Bangladesh police are working on the frontline since the COVID-19 case was first confirmed in the country on March 8. Until now three members of Bangladesh Police have died in the country after contracting COVID- 19.
The deceased are – Constable Jasim Uddin (40) of Wari division, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Abdul Khalek (36) of police order management (PMO) and Traffic Constable Ashek Mahmud (42) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (north division).
According to the officials at police headquarters, 250 members of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) were diagnosed with the novel virus while 652 police members were sent into home quarantine across the country till April 24.
During the lockdown, besides doctors and security forces, journalists have also been working as frontline warriors: gathering news, contributing to public awareness of the pandemic, and combating misinformation.
Homayuan Kabir Khokon, the chief reporter of a local newspaper Shomoyer Alo, died on Tuesday night with COVID-19 symptoms in a hospital in Dhaka.
“The journalist was admitted to our hospital on Tuesday at 7 pm and died around 9:45 pm local time. His physical condition was COVID-19-suspected,” said Tarik Shibly, an official at the hospital.
Till filing the report, a total of 39 journalists have been identified positive with coronavirus from different print and electronic media. However, eight media persons recovered successfully.
It is to be noted, a Supreme Court lawyer JR Khan Robin on March 23, filed a writ petition before the High Court seeking proper protective gear for journalists and law enforcing agency members.
The writ petition read; coronavirus is contagious and travels across communities and populations.
As journalists and law enforcers work closely with many people while performing their duties, it is necessary to provide them with safety equipment, the writ added.
When contacted, Meerjady Sabrina Flora, Director of Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) told Bangladesh Post, “From the beginning, we are continuously saying to maintain social distance and apply proper safety measures while performing duties”.
At the same time, Flora urged all the emergency service provider professionals to use proper protection measures and stay aware of the deadly lethal virus.
The global death toll from coronavirus reached 228,223 as of Thursday morning, as countries across the world struggle to contain the virus' spread.
