Over 20,000 Isolation Beds Ready across Country: Health Minister

Health Minister Zahid Maleque said Wednesday that more than 20,000 corona insulation beds are now available to handle coronavirus patients around the country.

After a visit to the latest corona isolation center at the Bashundhara Convention Center in the city, the Minister made the disclosure.

The Minister said another 4,500 new corona insulation beds were planned at the Bashundhara Convention Centre, DNCC Market and four floors of Dia Bari in the capital to handle coronavirus patients.

Zahid Maleque said it would be possible to open these corona isolation hospitals within a week.

There are 2,000 beds at the Bashundhara Convention Center, 1,300 at the DNCC Market and 1200 at Uttara Diabari which are now fully ready. Besides, 601 more institutions in districts and Upazilas, including the capital, are ready for use as corona isolation centers. In total, over 20,000 corona isolation beds have now been set up in the country to deal with corona, the minister added.

Backing the reopening of some industries and mills in the country on a limited scale, he said the decision has been taken so that no one starves and suffers becoming jobless during the lockdown. Besides, lockdowns have been relaxed in many countries, including Italy and France. New Zealand has already lifted its lockdown and the country has returned to a normal life.

“If everything goes well, we’ll be able to go back to normal life soon,” he said.

The government is now hiring 2,000 additional physicians and 6,000 additional nurses. Adequate insulation tables, ICU hubs, ventilators, and oxygen cylinders should also be improved.

Source: UNB