Arun Bikash Dey

Public vehicles in Chattogram city are defying government instructions for movement during the pandemic in every way possible.

Most low-lying areas in Chattogram city went under knee-to-waist-deep water yesterday due to incessant rain, causing immense sufferings to city dwellers.

Tuli Chowdhury (not her real name) recently went to a gynaecologist, who advised her to undergo breast screening. Tuli had heard that Chattogram Medical College Hospital (CMCH) charges much lower for the test than private diagnostic centres.

After Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) Mayor Rezaul Karim Chowdhury took office on February 15, he started a 100-day crash programme to solve some of the city’s key issues on priority basis. Even though 95 days have gone by, most of the problems still persist, and the mayor’s promises remain unfulfilled.

After a brief break following the Eid holiday, vaccination centres in Chattogram have resumed operations with second doses of the Covid-19 vaccine from Saturday. Only this time, they are providing 100 doses per day, due to severe shortage of stocks.

At 12 noon on Friday, rickshaw-puller Md Belal stood at Jamal Khan Road with his clothes stuck to his body with sweat. The 37-year-old has been

Retired schoolteacher Ratna Raha received her first dose of Covid-19 vaccine at Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) General Hospital on March 25. She is scheduled to get the second dose on May 25, but then news broke of the shortage of vaccines in the country and Ratna has been worrying for her second dose ever since.

Around 89 percent of people who tested positive for Covid-19 in RT-PCR tests, and 26 percent who tested negative in Chattogram, developed antibodies against the virus, according to a study conducted by researchers in the port city.

A study by researchers of Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (CVASU) found that mostly the UK variant and partly the South African variant of coronavirus are behind the second wave of Covid-19 in port city, which started in late March.

With 185 new cases detected in 24 hours till 10pm yesterday (Friday), number of Covid-19 cases has crossed the 50,000 mark -- 393 days into the detection of the first case -- in Chattogram.

Most of the upazila health complexes in Chattogram have no high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) facility, although all 14 of them have isolation wards to treat Covid-19 patients. Even many of the medical centres have no central oxygen system.

Intern doctors of Chattogram Medical College Hospital suddenly went for work stoppage yesterday following a clash between two factions of CMC unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League the day before, causing suffering to patients.

The 70-bed Bidyanondo Field Hospital was inaugurated at Sagarika in the Halishahar area of the port city on April 15. The hospital is equipped with all facilities to treat Covid-19, said the hospital’s coordinator, Jamal Uddin.

In the week before the enforcement of the strict lockdown on April 14, Chattogram’s rate of infection was hovering around 12 percent to 20 percent. But in the days since then, the rate has jumped up.

Animal lovers in Chattogram have been busy arranging and distributing meals for stray cats and dogs -- who have been starving as shops and restaurants remain closed -- to different areas of the city and adjacent areas.

Before the pandemic, rickshaw-van puller Ramjan Ali used to earn Tk 300-400 by mainly transporting furniture. But his worst times started from April 5, when the government announced the lockdown, which compelled shops to remain shut.

People were seen rushing out of the port city, facing almost no hindrance yesterday, the last day before enforcement of a weeklong lockdown throughout the country. Although the government asked residents to not move from their location, initiatives from the administration to compel people to comply with the directive were absent on the roads.

Demolition process of a five-storey tilted building in Chattogram city started in the afternoon yesterday.

Covid-19 infection rate in Chattogram is highest among people aged between 31 and 40 while the death rate is highest among those above 60, according to the civil surgeon’s office.

With the worsening situation of the Covid-19 pandemic, field hospitals and isolation centres in he port city are opening again, to handle the increasing numbers of patients.