Mizanur Rahman paid double for a seat in an evening coach bus from Rajbari, a district in central Bangladesh, to return to Dhaka metropolis after celebrating the Eid-al Adha pageant. He was speculated to have two seats for himself to keep up social distance within the public transport as per the federal government guidelines.
However after boarding on the bus, Rahman discovered {that a} passenger had occupied the seat that ought to have remained empty. In actual fact, no seat on the bus was empty.
“The bus conductor informed me that I needed to pay 4 instances greater than common truthful if I needed the seat beside me empty. That is unreasonable as a result of the federal government allowed them to boost bus fare by 60 p.c to maintain the bus half empty,” Rahman informed the Diplomat.
By the point he reached Daulatdia ferry terminal, the place buses from the southern districts cross the Padma river on ferries, there was round a five-kilometer lengthy visitors jam. 1000’s of individuals had flocked there to cross the river to return to the capital metropolis. It was a day after Eid and the federal government had introduced that it might return to a stricter lockdown from the subsequent day.
Just like the bus Rahman boarded, many of the buses caught in Daulatdia have been overcrowded. Apart from the general public transports, folks of all ages have been speeding to get on the ferry in smaller automobiles to achieve Dhaka by daybreak. Only some of them have been sporting masks, and social distancing was non-existent.
The state of affairs from the night till daybreak at Daulatdia was exceptional for a rustic that’s battling its worst wave of COVID-19. However this image was a typical sight in all places from public transportation and procuring malls to cattle markets forward of the Eid vacation.
When The Diplomat requested the police in cost at Daulatdia why they aren’t checking if the buses adopted well being rules, police officer Anisuzzaman mentioned, “That is none of our concern. Please discuss to the upper authority.”
Because the third wave of COVID-19 surges in Bangladesh, the nation averaged round 12,000 instances and 200 deaths per day in July. On July 12, the day earlier than Bangladesh introduced it might withdraw its lockdown for every week for Eid-al Adha, the second greatest pageant of the Islamic religion, the nation recorded its highest every day case rely: 13,768 new coronavirus infections.
Nonetheless, the authorities eased COVID-19 restrictions to permit folks to buy groceries and journey to the villages, and permitted cattle markets to open to promote sacrificial animals to be slaughtered on Eid.
In response to the nation’s posts and telecommunications minister, Mustafa Jabbar, greater than 10 million SIM customers left Dhaka for villages earlier than the Eid pageant.
Only a day after Eid, when the brand new lockdown was coming into impact, practically half one million folks like Mizanur Rahman rushed again to Dhaka. However greater than 9 million SIM customers will likely be nonetheless returning within the following days, regardless of the lockdown.
Public well being consultants mentioned the authorities’ dealing with of lockdown in Bangladesh was weird. Many concern that the mishandling of the lockdown, together with its random withdrawals and implementations, will lead Bangladesh to catastrophe within the coming weeks.
“When the restriction was relaxed, lots of people went out of their properties. They have been everywhere, together with the procuring malls, cattle markets, workplaces, mass transports, and finally travelled from Dhaka to the villages,” mentioned Dr Mohammad Shahidullah, chairman of Bangladesh’s Nationwide Technical Advisory Committee (NTAC) on COVID-19. “Throughout this free-mixing, everybody didn’t adhere to the well being precautions. A lot of folks didn’t put on masks.”
“Round 80 p.c of our an infection instances are Delta variants. Since this variant is extra infectious, it unfold extra throughout this week. We’ll understand its influence within the subsequent one month. The curve was supposed to return down by now. But when it doesn’t, the weeklong leisure of the restrictions will likely be accountable for that,” the NTAC chairman informed The Diplomat.
Each COVID-19 infections and deaths have been certainly on the decline into the third week of July. However since July 24, a day after the lockdown resumed, the curve started to rise once more.
From 6,364 instances and 166 deaths reported on July 23 when the lockdown resumed, on July 25, each deaths (228) and instances (11,291) elevated considerably. Throughout this timeframe, the nation additionally witnessed deaths with COVID-19 signs outpace confirmed fatalities, suggesting the true loss of life rely from COVID-19 may very well be considerably greater.
On July 26, Bangladesh notched new information when it comes to each every day instances (15,192) and deaths (247).
“Our lockdowns have been by no means carried out correctly. In Bangladesh, the concept of lockdown and its necessity has change into a joke. We’re imposing and withdrawing lockdowns randomly at our will,” mentioned public well being professional Dr. Abu Jamil Faisel.
“The opening up for Eid pageant was very unwise. Due to these random openings and restrictions, the lockdown has change into meaningless and we are going to start to really feel the influence in just a few days. We now have already seen the an infection fee rising by 2 p.c.” Faisel predicted an alarming state of affairs by the tip of July and in August.
“I’m personally frightened if we’re attending to the extent of India,” the general public well being specialist added.
Taufique Joarder, vice chairperson of Public Well being Basis, Bangladesh, nonetheless, desires to focus extra on why Bangladesh needed to go for a lockdown in any respect, when it might keep away from this surge as a substitute.
“Lockdown is the final resort. You didn’t must go for the lockdown for those who might shut the border [with India] on time,” Joarder mentioned. “We knew concerning the new variant in India from the start of this yr. The Delta variant was not recognized again then but, however we realized there have to be one thing mistaken in India. We realized there was going to be an explosion in India that really occurred.
“Bangladesh ought to have shut the border again in January/February. However we closed the border in April. By then the Delta variant already entered Bangladesh. All of this means that we weren’t ready.”
Bangladeshi public well being consultants consider that as a result of authorities’ “playful” implementations and withdrawals of lockdown, the curve is spiking as soon as once more when it ought to be coming down.
“We go for lockdown after exploring all different avenues and making an attempt each different step. Lockdown is the final resort. However our policymakers make errors in each step, after which they randomly announce lockdown,” Joarder mentioned.
When Bangladesh introduced a country-wide lockdown final April, Joarder mentioned they suggested the federal government to do genomic surveillance and implement area-based lockdowns when Delta variant was but to be present in Bangladesh. “We mentioned please don’t drain power like this. You might be fatiguing folks and damaging the financial system. The folks can’t take lockdown for greater than every week.”
All public well being consultants, nonetheless, should not on the identical web page concerning the necessity of lockdown in Bangladesh’s present situation. “Lockdown is an efficient manner. I don’t suppose individuals are realizing this,” Faisel informed The Diplomat.
However the consultants do agree on one factor: Because of the authorities’ failure to know the seriousness of a lockdown, Bangladesh could must pay a hefty worth within the coming weeks.