Mask, sanitizing must be in place as Covid rules are eased

Mostafa Kamal Majumder.

Mostafa Kamal Majumder

The authorities have allowed the resumption of classes in secondary schools, colleges and universities as the Covid-19 infection rate has appreciably been coming down after marking a surge in this winter. This is a wise decision because life has to come back to normal for economic activities to fully normalize for the rescue of the devastated people of low income groups operating in the informal sectors of the economy. But people are still getting infected and are dying of the pandemic while a vast section of the people remains unvaccinated and the danger of, God forbidding, more coronavirus surges still remain wide open.

According to information collated by the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research, 1,406 more people were infected and another 11 people dies of the pandemic during the 24 hours ending on Friday February 25 morning compared to 1,516 cases of infection and 10 deaths in the 24 hours before. Although the number of deaths went up and down maintaining a sustained fall after registering the highest number of 43 deaths on February 8 last; the number of infected cases has been in steady fall since January 16 when a total of 16,033 cases were detected. It is to be noted that the winter surge in coronavirus infections started on January 03 with a total of 674 cases; and 4 deaths from the same date.

The Covid-19 pandemic has so far claimed 29,016 human lives and infected 1,941,057 people, according to official figures. Concerned people believe that the actual death and infection figures must be much higher because many coronavirus cases and deaths caused by the virus remained unreported. The recovery rate among the confirmed cases is 92.38 percent. Official statistics show that out of 1,941,057 confirmed cases 1,793,082 cases recovered since the start of the pandemic in March 2020 in Bangladesh. The suspected unreported cases are those who did not experience strong Covid symptoms or had symptoms that they managed to absorb by taking measures on their own. There are cases of deaths after suffering from cold and cough without the victims realizing attacks by coronavirus. And there are also cases in which people carry the virus without having any inward or outward symptoms. A total of 13,336,886 samples were tested for coronavirus in Bangladesh since the start of the Pandemic and the average detection rate has been 14.55 percent so far. 

While there are reasons to be happy about the present rate of decline in coronavirus deaths and infections, there is no room for complacency because the winter surge was experienced after experiencing zero deaths and as little as 268 cases of infection only December 26 last year. Of the new cases confirmed during the last two months 80 percent were infected by the Omicron variant of the virus, IEDCR sources said. 

According of official figures so far 33395115 persons   have been vaccinated; of them 10377540 have received the first dose, 20232735 the second dose and 1519106 the third dose. The government has set to vaccinate 119,221,953 which is 70 percent of the population. A total of 92,101,856 people have registered themselves for vaccines with the Surokkha App. 

We should realise that so long the vaccination drive has covered the willing population. There is a sizeable number of Covid-19 deniers who are firm not to take the vaccine. They include both educated and illiterate sections of our population. We are seeing a positive result of the drive to control the pandemic apparently because vaccination has mostly covered those who are in the frontline of the battle against Covid-19, and the observance of Covid rules in offices, educational institutions; hotels and restaurants, transports and official programmes. If mask and sanitization rules are withdrawn the Omicron variant might take us by surprise and neutralize the gains made so far in no time. More so because even people who have taken the booster dose are being found attacked by the diseases and in a few cases even causing deaths. So there is a strong case for keeping the mask and sanitizing rules in place till such time as the Pandemic comes under total control. 

(A veteran journalist, campaigner, author and researcher the writer is editor of GreenWatch Dhaka online paper.)