COVID-19 onslaught is masking the 2021 dengue outbreak in Dhaka, Bangladesh
Mohammad Sorowar Hossain, Md Robed Amin, Abdullah Al Mosabbir
Abstract
Bangladesh, a South Asian country with over 165 million people, is currently confronting the worst phase of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVIDAU : PleasenotethatCOVID 19hasbeendefineda -19) pandemic since the official declaration on 8 March 2020, with a record surge in cases and deaths. After ravaging the neighboring countries (India and Nepal), the highly contagious delta variant has been spreading rapidly throughout Bangladesh. While more than 110,000 confirmed cases and 17,894 deaths had been reported in Bangladesh as of 19 July 2021, the ongoing third wave (MayAU : Pleasecheckandconfir to 1 July 2021) has already affected over 300,000 and claimed more than 6,000 lives However, this is merely an underrepresentation of the actual scenario due to a low level of testing in Bangladesh To contain the infection, a nationwide lockdown (limited office openings and transport services) has been imposed since 5 April 2021. Later, the government has deployed the military to implement the strictest version of lockdown (all offices and transports were closed) from 1 July 2021. However, the onslaught of this wave is yet to show any sign of slowing down. It is important to mention here that unlike in developed countries, lockdowns were not practically implemented in Bangladesh because of poor general health awareness, public reluctance, and other socioeconomic factors. As a result, almost all hospital beds dedicated to severe and critical patient care in the country, especially those in Dhaka, are currently occupied by patients of . On the other hand, the country's vaccine drive is still at an early stage; only around 3% (as of 19 July 2021) of the country's population has received 2 doses. Now vaccination coverage has reached to 20.32% as of 24 November 2021 [4].