DHAKA (UCAN): Catholic health workers in Bangladesh have joined state authorities in battling increasing public fears stemming from the deadly outbreak of the Covid-19 coronavirus. An awareness campaign was among the issues topping the agenda during the annual workshop of the Catholic Bishops’ Commission for Healthcare held in Dhaka on February 9.
About 50 Catholic health officials and activists from Bangladesh’s two archdioceses and six dioceses attended the programme at the secretariat of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh.
Participants discussed a comparative analysis of national and Church health policies as well as renewed efforts to prioritise awareness and treatment of major diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure.
The Church is highly concerned about the Covid-19 outbreak and wants to do everything possible to support people, Edward Pallab Rozario, a physician and head of health programmes at Caritas Bangladesh.
“People are very afraid as the deadly virus has instilled a climate of fear. The Church and Caritas have been working together at the grassroots level so people know how they can avoid becoming infected by taking measures such as maintaining cleanliness and staying away from animals and birds,” Rozario, who is also a consultant at St. John Vianney Hospital in Dhaka, said, adding that awareness of the virus is essential for people in rural areas as there are many migrant workers.
“The Church and Caritas have access to the grassroots level, and we are tapping into this advantage to reach out to as many people as possible,” the physician added.
The Church has already started reaching out to people in remote areas to make them aware of the coronavirus outbreak, Dipok Ekka, a member of the health commission of the Diocese of Rajshahi, said.
“We have sent out essential messages to all the parishes of the diocese and about 50 grassroots Caritas offices. We have set up digital banners with symptoms of the coronavirus and preventive measures,” Ekka, an ethnic Oraon Catholic, exaplined, adding that “we have reached out to various project groups such as microcredit groups to make people aware of the infection and not to panic.”
Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome) (MERS-CoV) and SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and Covid-19, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Common signs of infection include respiratory problems, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, SARS, kidney failure and even death, the WHO noted.
The current outbreak was first reported in Wuhan, China, on 31 December 2019. According to data on February 17 (SCMP), more than 71,329 have been infected—mostly in China—while 1,775 have died, however, 10,610 people have recovered.
Fear grips Bangladesh
Fear of the outbreak has gripped Bangladesh in recent weeks. A 39-year-old Bangladeshi worker was among three men found infected with Covid-19 in Singapore, The Straits Times reported on February 9.
Eight passengers who returned from Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, on February 1 were admitted to a state hospital in Dhaka due to high body temperature, media reported.
They were among 314 Bangladeshi nationals, most of them students, brought back to the country. The rest have been put in weeks-long quarantine in a camp near Dhaka.
Bangladesh continues to allow flights to and from China, but has installed screening mechanisms at all international airports to detect virus infection.
Government ministers warned that Covid-19 infection was poised to jeopardise the economy of Bangladesh, where one quarter of the population of 160 million lives below the poverty line.
Due to Chinese investments and construction groups, several megaprojects are in jeopardy, roads and transports minister, Obaidul Quader, said on February 5.
The projects include Padma Multipurpose Bridge, the country’s largest bridge being built over the Padma River, which would connect the southern region with the capital.
Chinese experts and workers on holiday have been told not to return to Bangladesh until the outbreak ends and those in the country have been put under observation, the minister said.
Commerce minister, Tipu Munshi, said trade with China has nosedived since the outbreak as imports and exports plunge.
Exports of frozen foods including crab and eel, mostly destined for China, have dropped over the past few weeks, while imports of raw materials for the country’s vital ready-made garment sector has been affected, the minister told journalists on February 11.
“Our local market and economy will suffer if the outbreak in China persists,” he said.
