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Dealing with the COVID-19: Lesson learnt from Australia

Published : Sunday, 22 March, 2020 at 12:00 AM  Count : 487
Kazi Emdadul Haq
Kazi Emdadul Haq

Kazi Emdadul Haq

Bangladesh being one of the densely populated countries in the world, are we well prepared to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic? When all the developed countries are striving to come up with their contingency plans in minimizing the risks associated withCovid-19, Bangladesh apparently seems to be blessed by nature to not have been hit so hard, as yet, by coronavirus. According to expert's opinion, due to high atmospheric temperature and humidity Bangladesh is fortunately relatively less prone to coronavirus.

However, even without any mass gathering, Bangladeshi cities and streets are teeming with people that make the country more susceptible to the spreading of coronavirus. Bangladesh should not take this outbreak of coronavirus lightly despite WHO's declaration of Covid-19 pandemic which means "the worldwide spread of a new disease", and when numerous scientists globally are yet to find a cure for this virus. The slums and poor hygienic condition in many parts of Bangladesh may bring havoc in our country.  Even if we consider it less consequential, the side effects/after-effects could bring much more jeopardy to our country unless we are well prepared.

Let's see how Australia is dealing with the coronavirus outbreak. I feel that coronavirus has thrown Australia in a quandary.  First, it became a hot discussion in the Australian Parliament which led the Prime Minister Scott Morrison to declare AUD 17.6billion stimulus package to keep Australians in jobs and help small and medium sized businesses to stay in business. Victorian Government has already declared a state of emergency.  Despite being a developed and educated society, widespread panic has taken over the Australian people.

Australians have started hoarding daily utilities and essential food items, most importantly toilet papers and hand sanitizers to the extent that all supermarkets have empty shelves of toilet paper and hand sanitizers. Public panic has made the situation bad to worse. At one stage, the popular Woolworth Store experienced a scuffling amongst women inside their store over buying the toilet paper.

The tourism and airplane industry have become early victims of immediate knock-on effect of Covid-19. As the mobility of people got restricted, small scale to medium scale entrepreneurs have been forced to shut down as people are abandoning restaurants amidst the coronavirus crisis. Although Australian PM declared some incentive package for entrepreneurs, small businesses may not be able to sustain the disastrous consequences, and as a result, will be forced to declare bankruptcy.  

To deal with this unprecedented condition, innovative strides have been put in place to deal with the situation as best as possible. Woolworths Stores and Coles are now open exclusively for the elderly and those with a disability an hour between 7 to 8 AM to make it easier for these vulnerable groups to do their shopping.  In every suburb a coronavirus checking point has been set-up where anyone can walk-in to get a health check-up.

Further measures to minimize the spread of the virus are being implemented.  For example, Australians have been advised to maintain social distancing (stay more than 1.5 meters away from people), not to shake hands, work from home as much as possible and avoid social contacts. Public gatherings over 500 people have been banned. Mailman, or home delivery people are maintaining safe distance to avoid direct contact.  

If the people of a developed nation like Australia despite the awareness raising and education against Covid-19, despite the fact that with only 25 million of population producing three times the food needed, can become such panic stricken, then what can we predict about Bangladesh? We have previously experienced that Bangladeshi people are quite susceptible to panic. As majority of our people are not well-educated and organized as compared to developed countries, there is a possibility that all hell will break loose in case of such calamities.

It is speculated by some scientists that most of the people globally will be affected by the coronavirus displaying symptoms ranging from mild to severe. Hence, to prepare our nation well, first, we need to raise awareness about this new coronavirus - how does it spread, what are the symptoms, how to minimize the risk of contracting the virus and most importantly educate people as much as possible. In the context of Bangladesh, we know it will take tremendous effort to educate common people about Covid-19.

We need to make it very clear that mostly young people are carriers of coronavirus, but they don't fall ill seriously and get cured quickly. But the aged people (particularly those over 60 years)can be seriously affected leading to death in most cases.  So, the concerned government organizations need to formulate their action plans about how to minimize the spreading of coronavirus in Bangladesh. Subsequently, attention needs to be given towards dealing with the spread of coronavirus - its identification and management, prevention and control. Drastic measures are required to identify the coronavirus carriers and then effectively isolate them so that they do not infect others.

Enough testing equipment, oxygen cylinders and other necessary medical items need to be arranged on an urgent basis.  All doctors and nurses need to be available and equipped for this purpose at least for the next couple of months.  It is well understood that it will be difficult to equip all the hospitals, but efforts must be taken to meet the minimum requirements. Bangladesh is yet to be seriously affected by coronavirus, and timely planning may help avert the potential calamities.

We need to carry out a comprehensive 'plan of action' to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. Government decisions must be implemented by all citizens to prevent the spread of this virus and to stop spreading rumours that may create unnecessary panic.  Furthermore, the economic consequences of this crisis for Bangladesh need to be duly analyzed to inform policy decisions and strategies to address the contingencies to the best of our abilities. When the future projection indicates that the world is going to face another recession coming ahead, Bangladesh also needs to make its own contingency plan in anticipation of coronavirus-hit economy in a bid to stave off recession.

Commodore Kazi Emdadul Haq BN (Retd). He is Director General, Bangladesh Institute of Maritime Research and Development (BIMRAD).





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