Arun Bikash Dey

In isolation, all Prof Dr Shakeel Ahmed thinks about is rejoining the fight against Covid-19. At the same time, he has also made sure that the work continues during his absence.

Prof Dr Shakeel Ahmed, in-charge of Bangladesh Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases (BITID), had been feeling unwell since Saturday. But the doctor did not take it seriously and continued his duty in the laboratory. Yesterday, he decided to test his own sample and found the result Covid-19 positive.

Researchers have found five points of mutation in the genome structure of novel coronavirus (SARS-Cov-2) in Chattogram.

Researchers in Chattogram have decoded the complete genome sequence of Covid-19 samples collected from the port city and different upazilas in the district.

When Jamshed Haider, a banker and a resident of port city’s Ameerbagh Residential Area, started to have breathing difficulties on the morning of May 11, his family took him to Bangladesh Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases (BITID), a government hospital dedicated for treating Covid-19 patients in Chattogram.

With the percentage of Covid-19 positive cases increasing at an alarming rate and the total number of positive cases reaching 641 from 89 in just 12 days as of Friday, experts opine that the outbreak may be approaching its peak in Chattogram.

When Asiful Hoque tested Covid-19 positive on April 14, his whole world went into a whirlwind at first. But soon enough, the medical officer at Banshkhali Upazila Health Complex in Chattogram gathered himself and rode the wave, because he knew his duty beckoned him.

A quizzical rate of positive results of Covid-19 test results at Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (CVASU) has caused some alarm, after 53 out of 97 samples showed positive on Sunday, and 40 out of 61 samples showed positive on Thursday.

With the number of Covid-19 patients increasing everyday, the beds dedicated for them in Chattogram are going to be filled up soon; so the authorities must take immediate steps, said health experts and concerned citizens.

An iftar gathering was held at a ward councillor’s residence in Chattogram city on Tuesday, without maintaining social distance amid the coronavirus outbreak.

After a teacher of Chittagong University caught a fever with a mild cough, she was rightly concerned, and went to Bangladesh Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases (BITID) for Covid-19 test last Wednesday.

Srijon Roy, a resident of Chattogram’s Jamal Khan Road, was in a rush to deliver some emergency medicine to his ailing mother on Tuesday. This meant he would have to scour for vehicles amid the transport shutdown, to reach his village home in Hathazari’s Nandir Hat.

A 10-month-old-baby, who was tested Covid-19 positive on April 21, is getting better at Chattogram General Hospital (CGH).

The private clinic owners’ association of Chattogram was supposed to open a 100-bed hospital only for Covid-19 patients in port city on April 25 but it is now uncertain from when the hospital will begin its operations.

Covid-19 positive patients in Chattogram in critical conditions are going to get ICU support from today, as a 10-bed ICU is all set to open at Chattogram General Hospital (CGH). The hospital received 10 ventilators and the same number of ICU beds from the government on April 7.

Two new laboratories are going to open in Chattogram by next week for testing Covid-19 samples, aiming to increase the testing capacity to 350 from the present capacity of around 150 a day.

With two new hospitals set to start treating covid-19 patients this month, a total of 160 new isolation beds will be added to the existing 150 beds in Chattogram for treating coronavirus positive patients.

The doctors and nurses at the Bangladesh Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases (BITID) in Chattogram have been resilient in discharging their duties in the Covid-19 isolation ward, although they are having to manage their own as there is no support from the hospital authorities.

Even though social distancing is one of the best tools we have to avoid being exposed to coronavirus and slowing its spread locally and across the country, many in Chattogram are not following this important practice.

A shortage of testing kit components is threatening to impede Covid-19 testing in Chattogram from today.