Tuhin Shubhra Adhikary

For 50-year-old Md Mostafa and his wife, last weekend was nothing short of a nightmare. He shuttled from one hospital to another in the capital with his ailing wife Sathi Khanam, a kidney patient, only to be turned away.

Two public hospitals in the capital, including one dedicated to dealing with Covid-19, started getting central oxygen supply yesterday, giving much relief to coronavirus patients, who usually require more oxygen.

With the public hospitals grappling with a rising number of Covid-19 patients, different professional bodies have moved to ensure that their members get preferential treatment at private hospitals, limiting people’s access to healthcare.

Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) has decided to allow only enlisted motor cars and microbuses to operate under ride-sharing service providers.

Uber Bangladesh Ltd has sought intervention from the Prime Minister’s Office to be able to resume operations in Dhaka and other cities amid the government decision to suspend ride-hailing services until further notice.

Here is some good news for healthcare professionals on the frontline against Covid-19.

More than 70km of roads under the management of Roads and Highways Department (RHD) in four coastal districts have been damaged by cyclone Amphan with 10km still underwater.

More than two and a half months after the government declared Sheikh Russel Gastro Liver Institute and Hospital at the capital’s Mohakhali a designated hospital to treat Covid-19 patients, hospital authorities said they have started providing treatment since Wednesday.

An increasing number of experienced doctors at the frontline in the fight against Covid-19 are falling victim to the virus, creating vacuum in the healthcare system that is already strained by the pandemic.

“Good decisions come from experience, but experience comes from making bad decisions.”

With the need to ensure uninterrupted oxygen supply at public hospitals having become increasingly critical in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, there appears to be a glimmer of hope as the authorities concerned are moving towards installing oxygen tanks in more hospitals.

The government is going to place the budget for the fiscal year 2020-21 tomorrow at a time when the world grapples with the Covid-19 pandemic. The outbreak has also exposed the weakness in the country’s healthcare system as people felt they did not get the service they expected. The health budget, thus, this time around will draw a lot of attention.

The third metro rail project of the country is being prepared for its physical work to begin from 2023, as the authority is set to sign a contract with a consortium of agencies, both foreign and Bangladeshi, today for general consultancy services.

The government yesterday extended the relaxation of the requirement to obtain driving licences to operate heavy vehicles by one more year to June 2021, following the demand of transport leaders.

The country’s first metro rail project, Mass Rapid Transit-6, may miss its completion deadline in December next year if the construction suffers any further delays.

Road Transport and Bridges Ministry today asked Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) to cancel registration and route permits if vehicles violate health guidelines.

Facing setbacks in its plan to enforce containment zones in four districts from yesterday, the government is now working to impose a total lockdown in areas that will be marked red and partially in the ones marked yellow in a day or two.

In the wake of rising Covid-19 deaths and infections across the country, the government today starts enforcing containment zones on a pilot basis in some areas of four districts, including Dhaka.

Ride-sharing services are unlikely to resume anytime soon as the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) has taken a hard line on the vehicles that had been providing the popular service without having been enlisted with the BRTA.

Most of the mega development projects were already behind schedule before the pandemic. Then came several months of shutdown, deteriorating the situation to a great extent.