Coronavirus: Bangladesh worst hit country in South Asia
Fahim Reza Shovon
- Published at 10:48 am April 30th, 2020
Photo: Bigstock
Dhaka Tribune compares deaths tolls, positive cases and recovery rates of eight South Asian neighbors of their first 53 days into the outbreak
Bangladesh has recorded the highest number of deaths and the lowest recovery rate in a span of 53 days after it confirmed the first coronavirus positive case in the country, making it the worst hit among eight nations in South Asia.
Compared to the rest of the countries mostly situated in the Asia-Pacific region, Bangladesh recorded 163 deaths, followed by Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and others, over the same period of time.
Pakistan reported its first case of the deadly disease on February 26 from a student who had returned from Iran.
Within its first 53 days into the outbreak, Pakistan also recorded the highest number of positive cases among the eight other nations in the region.
At the same time, Pakistan’s death toll witnessed an upward trend and reached 343 as of April 29.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan recorded 30 deaths, India 7, and other countries did not record any deaths by the deadly Covid-19, a disease caused by new strain of coronavirius, in the 53 days of first detection.
Following Pakistan, Bangladesh crossed the seventh span of the thousand in only two days, registering 549 and 641 new positive cases on April 28 and 29 respectively.
While these two countries continue to fight the deadly virus with four-digit figures in positive cases, five other countries remained between three-digit, two-digit even in single-digit figures.
According to the local media reports, authorities in Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Maldives, all the tourism-based countries, initiated strict measures including enforcing lockdown, social-distancing, locking the gateway to enter into the territory from the very beginning of the global pandemic.
However, India has been witnessing an upward trend in infections with 22,982 cases and 1,008 deaths.
Sri Lanka first reported its Covid-19 case on January 27 – a 44-year-old Chinese woman who came to the country from Hubei Province in China, the reported birthplace of the contagious disease.
Later, Sri Lanka witnessed an upward trend in infection from March and the second patient was detected on the 13th day of the next month.
In Nepal, a 19-year-old woman, who had returned from France on March 17 via Qatar, was tested coronavirus positive. This was the first case in two months and the second case of the country.
In Maldives, Bangladeshi migrants have surpassed the number of infected locals within the island’s territory. A total of 115 Bangladeshi nationals were tested positive among the 256 Covid-19 cases in the country as of Wednesday,
Meanwhile, Bangladesh experienced a sharp rise in positive cases, as the country started conducting more tests since the fourth week of first detection.
Lowest recovery rate
Bangladesh confirmed a total of 7,103 cases as of April 29, having only 150 cases of recovery.
Although other countries have been witnessing high rates of recovery, Bangladesh has been literally moving towards the opposite direction with only 2.11% recovered patients.
On April 28, the rate of recovered patients compared to the number of infected was 2.15%.
Following downward trend, the rate was 2.21%, 2.25%, 2.26%, 2.39% and 2.58% were in the previous days respectively.
On Tuesday’s virtual daily health bulletin, Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Additional Director General Nasima Sultana said that health authorities were yet to confirm the actual number of recoveries in the country, as some of the infected patients were cured at home.
She also said the number of recoveries being presented now is based on the number of Covid-19 patients being discharged after becoming fully cured following treatment in hospitals.
She said the health authorities were trying to reach all recovered patients in order to have an accurate collection of data.
Pledge of $21.8 million fund for Saarc
Earlier on March 15, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed formation of a regional emergency fund to fight Covid-19 through a video conference with heads of members states of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc).
The leaders met to discuss measures to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the region. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged Saarc leaders to set up an institute to fight public health threat.
As of March 22, all the countries but Pakistan and Sri Lanka, pledged to contribute the emergency fund.
India pledged $10 million, Bangladesh promised for $1.5 million, Afghanistan and Nepal wished to contribute $1 million each, Maldives $0.2 million and Bhutan $0.1 million.
Later on March 24, Sri Lanka announced that it will contribute $5 million and Pakistan, on April 9, pledged $3 million, taking the total amount of the fund to $21.8 million to combat the deadly virus in the South Asia.
https://www.dhakatribune.com/health...-bangladesh-worst-hit-country-in-south-asia-2
