Doctors and healthcare workers in the country are treating coronavirus patients and suspects without any protective gears. Hospitals must make sure they have everything they need to keep their staff safe. Doctors say surgical masks and respirators are not effective for protecting the general public from COVID-19 but are crucial for healthcare workers who come in close contact with infected persons.
A doctor at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital told the Daily Observer on Wednesday, "We continue to work in these conditions without any protection."
If the government fails to supply protective equipment for physicians and health care workers in the country they will not be able to provide treatment to coronavirus infected people in the country.
More than 3,300 nurses, doctors and other hospital staff members across the country were infected, many because of insufficient protective gears, he said.
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of USA recommendations for healthcare workers were eye protection, goggles or face shields, respirators or medical masks, N95 respirators, if available, gowns, closed securely at the back, gloves, pulled up over gown sleeves, he said.
There have no adequate supply of protective equipment for physicians and health care workers in the country.
Four doctors of DMCH were sent to home quarantine on Tuesday, since all four handled an identified coronavirus patient without any protective gear for over a week.
However, the nurses or ward helpers who actually touched the patient or administered intravenous medication, were not sent on quarantine.
There is still some uncertainty about how the new coronavirus spreads, but experts agree it is most likely passed through close contact with people who are infected, and specifically the viral droplets they expel when they cough or sneeze.
The virus, which causes a disease called COVID-19, can be life-threatening for some individuals, especially those who are over the age of 60 and those with underlying health conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
But tests remain limited and turnaround times slow, said the emergency department physician of DMCH. Only tests were capable in Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) for coronavirus in the country.
Doctors and healthcare workers in non-emergency specialties are concerned about potential equipment shortages, worrying that those shortages will affect their patients. Under usual circumstances, many patients already need ventilators or oxygen, he said.
Workers are required to wear gowns, gloves, goggles and special masks, like N95 respirators, that fit tightly over the nose and mouth to filter out virus particles before they are inhaled. (They can also wear devices known as PAPRs, or powered air-purifying respirators, which cover the entire head.)
Hospitals across the country are currently facing protective equipment shortages because of increased global demand, as well as supply chain disruptions.
As the coronavirus continues to spread across the country and more is learned about the disease, these safety guidelines could evolve.
Prof Dr Meerjady Sabrina Flora, Director of IEDCR said an elderly man, who tested positive for coronavirus infection, has died.
The current number of coronavirus affected people in the country is 14, the Director said. A total of 16 people have been kept in isolation while 42 are kept in institutionalised quarantine, she added.
IEDCR has tested samples from 49 people in the last 24 hours. So far the institution has tested 341 samples.
According to the WHO, 80 per cent of COVID-19 patients in China experienced a mild form of the illness, 14 per cent had a severe form, and 5 per cent became critically ill. Older people and those with prior health conditions were at the highest risk.
The gear healthcare workers need to protect themselves and how they isolate patients depends largely on how an illness is transmitted.
