Health authorities have decided to set up a separate unit for providing treatment to Covid-positive pregnant women, aiming to mitigate the huge pressure on the existing corona treatment facilities in Barishal.
Divisional Health Director Dr Basudev Kumar Das said, “We will set up the unit at the 20-bed Ma O Sishu Kalyan Kendra in the city’s Kalibari Road. Pregnant women testing positive for Covid-19 will be treated at the dedicated unit.”
Besides, 20 beds will be added to each Upazila Health Complex in nine upazilas of the district for treating Covid patients.
“Two more 300-bed private hospitals will also be turned into corona hospitals to reduce the huge pressure of Covid patients on the already-stretched Sher-e-Bangla Medical College and Hospital,” the health director said.
These decisions were taken at a virtual meeting with the divisional committee of the Health Ministry, in view of the worsening Covid-19 situation in the division, said Dr Basudev.
Deputy Commissioner of Barishal Jashim Uddin Haider presided over the meeting held on Monday.
Dr Tayubur Rahman, deputy director of the divisional family planning department, said, “We can start admitting pregnant women at the Ma O Sishu Kalyan Kendra from Wednesday itself but the doctors and the nurses at the centre need proper training.”
“Besides, there is no oxygen plant available. However, steps are being taken to open it at the earliest,” he added.
Dr HM Saiful Islam, director of Sher-e-Bangla Medical College and Hospital, said, “The diarrhoea and general wards of Barishal General Hospital were shifted to Sher-e-Bangla Medical College and Hospital, and the General Hospital is being prepared for corona unit, but only outdoor services will be available at the hospital.”
Besides, steps are taken to prepare the 100-bed Ambia Memorial Hospital and 250-bed South Apollo Medical College & Hospital as Covid hospital if the situation worsens further, he said.
According to the health authorities, Barishal division has logged as many as 16 new Covid deaths in 24 hours till Wednesday morning.
Besides, 773 people were found infected with the virus during the same period.
ZCC
Barishal division sees 16 new Covid deaths
Barishal division has logged as many as 16 new Covid deaths in the past 24 hours, health officials said on Wednesday morning.
Of the deceased, six were confirmed Covid patients while the remaining showed symptoms of the virus.
All of them died at Sher-E-Bangla Medical College and Hospital (SBMCH), the officials said.
Divisional Health Director Dr Basudev Kumar Das said that 500 patients have died of Covid-19 in the division so far.
Besides, 773 people have tested positive for Covid in Barishal division in the past 24 hours.
Of the fresh Covid cases in the division, 337 have been identified in Barisal district alone.
Some 36,140 active Covid patients have been identified in the division to date, according to the officials.
According to SBMCH authorities, 53 more patients have been admitted to the hospital in 24 hours till Wednesday morning.
Moreover, 349 Covid patients are currently undergoing treatment at the corona unit of SBMCH.
ZCC
Navy rescues 17 stranded fishermen from Bay of Bengal
The Bangladesh Navy, in the small hours of Wednesday, rescued as many as 17 fishermen from a trawler that broke down in the Bay of Bengal.
An officer from the naval headquarters here told UNB that the fishing trawler, ‘Tamanna Munshi-4’, ventured into deep waters with 17 fishermen on board on August 1.
That very day, the engine of the boat went out of order, forcing the fishermen to remain stranded in the sea for three days.
A team from the Bangladesh Navy rescued the stranded fishermen five miles away from Kutubdia point after the master of the trawler made an SOS call to national emergency number 999.
The rescued fishermen have been given first aid and food, the officer said.
ZCC
Security guard killed in city road crash
A 55-year-old security guard was fatally knocked down by a pick-up van when he was crossing the road near Shyampur Delta Hospital in the capital on Tuesday night, police said on Wednesday.
The deceased was identified as Azhar Ali, a resident of Munshiganj district.
Abdul Khan, assistant sub-inspector of the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital police camp, said Azhar died on the spot when the speeding pick-up van hit him around 11.15 pm and sped away.
The body has been kept at the morgue of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.
Road accidents during the recent Eid-ul-Azha holiday rush claimed 273 lives in just 15 days, even though long-haul buses were operating for just eight during those days, according to the Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samiti (Passenger Welfare Association).
At least 240 road crashes occurred during the July 14- 28 period, BJKS revealed, while presenting its road accident report-2021 at a press briefing on July 30.
In a report released in February 2020, the World Bank pointed out that Bangladesh needs to invest an estimated $7.8 billion over the next decade to halve its road crash fatalities.
The report attributed the high death rate on Bangladesh’s roads to lack of investments in systemic, targeted, and sustained road safety programmes.
ZCC
Govt. moves to boost climate resilience of vulnerable people, says official document
The government is finalising a project aimed at enhancing the climate resilience of vulnerable communities who live on coastal islands and riverine chars in the country.
The project titled, ‘Adaptation Initiative for Climate Vulnerable Offshore Small Islands and Riverine Charland in Bangladesh’ is under process for approval, according to an official document.
Spanning over five years, the project will be implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change following UNDP’s National Implementation Modality.
This project has four components. First one is: Enhancing climate resilience of households through climate-resilient housing, electrification and climate-proof water provisioning, and the second is increasing climate resilience of communities through climate-resilient infrastructure, climate risk mapping and inclusive cyclone preparedness.
The third component is improving income and food security of communities by innovating and providing assistance to selected households for climate-resilient livelihoods practices while the 4th is boosting knowledge and capacity of communities, government and policymakers to promote climate resilient development on chars.
According to the project proposal USD 2,007,828 is needed for Component 1 whereas USD 2,317,726, USD 3,397,068 and USD 614,700 will be needed for Component 2, Component 3 and Component 4 respectively.
Project execution cost has been fixed USD 875,000 while Total Project Cost is USD 9,212,322.
Implementing Entity Project Cycle Management Fee Of the project is USD 783,047.
The US$ 9,995,369 has been sought from the Washington based Adaptation Fund (AF) to address the knowledge technical, financial and institutional barriers to climate-resilient housing, infrastructure and livelihoods, the document said.
Resources sought for the Adaptation Fund (AF) will be invested in four components.
Firstly, it will assist households to enhance the resilience of their houses and livelihoods to climate change-induced flooding, cyclones, saline intrusion and droughts.
Secondly, it will improve community-level infrastructure, including embankments with modern climate-resilient technology and effective local management practices.
Thirdly, it will assist the Bangladesh Cyclone Preparedness Programme (CPP)1 under Disaster Management Department, to enhance its activities in the remote coastal char targeted by the project, in order to provide timely early warnings and effective emergency response.
This will be done by expanding the programme’s coverage in the area, modernising its equipment, and making it fully gender- sensitive.
Finally, the technology, approaches and knowledge generated by the project will be used to build the capacity of the local and national government; and communities to make climate-resilient investments and policies.
The ‘Adaptation Initiative for Climate Vulnerable Offshore Small Islands and Riverine Charland in Bangladesh’ will contribute towards the achievement of the government’s national priorities as outlined in the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP) and Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).
Six of the ten near-term areas of intervention identified by the first NDC will be addressed by the project, namely: i) food security, livelihood and health protection, including water security; ii) comprehensive disaster management; iii) coastal zone management, including saline intrusion control; iv) flood control and erosion protection; v) climate-resilient infrastructure; and vi) increased rural electrification.
Furthermore, the project is directly aligned with seven of the fourteen broad adaptation actions prioritised by the first NDC, namely: i) improved early warning systems; ii) disaster preparedness and shelters; iii) protection against tropical cyclones and storm surges; iv) provision of climate-resilient infrastructure and communication; v) provision of climate-resilient housing; vi) stress-tolerant crop variety improvement and cultivation; and vii) capacity building at individual and institutional level to plan and implement adaptation programmes and projects.
The project interventions will benefit an estimated 341,000 people (31,000 direct beneficiaries and 310,000 indirect beneficiaries) living on chars in the districts of Rangpur and Bhola.
According to the AF website, the proposal said that Bangladesh has a low-lying topography extremely exposed to sea level rise (SLR), cyclones, tidal surges, salinity intrusion, erratic rainfall, drought and floods, causing it to be one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change.
The vulnerable communities who live on chars — small alluvial islands in rivers and the Bay of Bengal are particularly at risk from climate change.
These communities have already experienced a number of climate change impacts including frequent tidal surges, increasingly intense cyclones and salt water intrusion into fresh water and soil.
Furthermore, climate change is projected to have an adverse impact on agriculture and other local livelihoods; fragile houses, access to drinking water and rural infrastructure, which includes existing cyclone protection embankments.
The impacts of climate change also disproportionately affect the poor and are especially severe for women and children, who are forced to spend a greater portion of their time on livelihood and domestic activities.
Current climate change projections indicate that 50-year floods in the country’s three main river basins will become 40 per cent more likely by 2025, relative to the historical record.
The impacts of climate change on these islands are exacerbated by several baseline factors, including geographic remoteness, topographic position near sea-level, limited public and private infrastructure to withstand climate impacts, poverty of local communities and livelihood practices that are dependent on the availability of fresh water.
On coastal chars (small offshore islands), the houses and livelihoods of communities are damaged by the increasingly frequent and intense cyclones, tidal floods and saline intrusion from climate change, with inadequate protection from the fragile embankment system.
On the inland riverine islands (riverine charland), communities are experiencing increasingly erratic rainfall as a result of climate change, leading to changes in both floods and droughts that their current houses and livelihood practices are unable to withstand.
ZCC
Internet Safety Tips for Children, Teens, and Adults
The internet has become a fantastic resource chock-full of intriguing content and limitless knowledge. However, at the same time, it also has become the most dangerous place, especially for children and teens. Adult people might know about the shady traps and pitfalls lurking in the dark while surfing the web. But if they don’t know what to do and what not to do during internet browsing, problems can occur. However, most early teenagers are primarily interested in sharing their experiences and making connections with their friends.The cyber security issue is often ignored. Read this article to know the basic internet safety precautions for all.
What is Internet Safety?
Internet safety is the practice that people should do to stay safe while using the internet. It is the act of staying safe. The practice includes awareness about the risks imposed by web browsing and interacting on the internet. One can also call internet safety cyber safety or e-safety.
Threats of the Internet
People are becoming more and more tech-savvy, and at the same time, smart and intelligent criminals are using it for robbing others’ money and information. Cybercriminals are now the biggest threat on the worldwide web. They target not only adults but also children and teens. That’s users should be aware of different cyber threats and cybercrimes designed and plotted to put people in danger. Some of the most usual cyber threats are:
Online predators
Cyberbullying
Identity theft
Phishing
Malware
Online scams
Cyber Security Tips to Safeguard Children, Teens, and Adults
Until something bad happens, none wants to believe that it could be himself. So, we should take proper safety measures while using the internet to save us from sudden attacks. Here are some crucial safety tips to protect children, teens, and adults.
Teaching about the Real Threat
Regarding the threat posed by cybersecurity, children are usually one of the weakest links of your family. Because children lack the understanding about the risks and how they can bring devastating occurrence. The same goes for adults who are not much tech guys. Children and these adults should be taught about strange internet behavior and urge them to seek assistance if they see anything out of the ordinary.
Parental Control System
The worldwide web is made of different contents. Contents are things that we consume on the internet using our data. They could be videos, audio, images, or even written words. Not all contents are good for children and adults. Similar contents have different effects on people of different ages. That’s why children shouldn’t have unmonitored access to every type of content. There are some parental control features that come by default with some phones or can be found on the app store. This app lets parents control the type of content their children can watch through that particular device.
Save the Identity
Children don’t understand the concept of losing and expose themselves to critical identity theft revealing personal information on the internet. The identity of a child or teen can be as valuable as an adult’s identity. Sometimes the risk can be even greater. Scammers can mislead children into giving Social Security numbers and other personal information, which can then be used to run identity fraud. The adults can also be tricked into sharing their private pin and security numbers.
That’s why none should give too much personal information. Their date of birth, patent’s names, addresses, and Social Security numbers are all instances of personal information that individuals should not readily disburse.
VPN Connection
PCMag points out that when someone goes online in a public area using a public Wi-Fi connection, he loses direct control over the connection’s security. Corporate cybersecurity specialists are concerned about the “endpoints,” which are used to link a private network to the outside world. Local Internet connections are a susceptible endpoint. Check that your device is safe, and if anything raises any doubt, wait until you can connect to a more secured network before entering sensitive information like your bank account’s number and mobile wallet’s pic codes.
Use a secure VPN (virtual private network) connection to increase your Internet surfing security even further. VPN allows you to establish a sage connection between an external internet server and your device. It ensures that none can watch or read any of the data you exchange.
Secure Download
There are over 1.9 billion websites on the globe. Naturally, not all of them are safe. A harmful website attempts to download and install malware on devices. Malware is defined as rouge software that might impair computer function, collect private data, or provide unwanted access to the system. Children and teens often download such applications or software without knowing what they are doing.
It’s not necessary that this software will ask for your permission before accessing different information. There are drive-by downloads, which let a website install software on any device without requesting any permission. Downloading and using security software will give protection against these dangers, and it’s also important to understand how to detect malware on your device and delete it.
Strong Passwords
Passwords are the most vulnerable points in the architecture of the internet’s security system. And the issue with users’ passwords is that individuals prefer selecting some simple-to-remember digits or words like “password” or “123456.” These are equally easy to crack, and today’s cybercriminals are smart enough to hack even medium-level passwords.
So, consider choosing a strong password difficult for hackers to decipher. Password management software can manage many passwords and keep track of them. A powerful password should contain a minimum of 15 characters that combine letters (at least in the capital), numbers, and one or two special characters.
ZCC
Rajshahi hospital logs 14 Covid deaths in 24 hours
Fourteen more Covid patients have died at Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital (RMCH) in the past 24 hours, health officials said on Wednesday morning.
Four of the patients died of Covid-19, while eight died with symptoms of the virus and the remaining due to post-corona complications, said hospital director Brigadier General Shamim Yazdani.
Of the deceased, four were from Rajshahi district, four from Natore, three from Naogaon and one each from Chapainawabganj, Kushtia and Chuadanga districts. While six of them were men, the remaining were women.
Besides, 48 people have been admitted to the corona unit of the hospital in the past 24 hours. On the other hand, some 30 people were discharged from the hospital after recovery during the period.
Currently, 402 patients are undergoing treatment at the hospital which has 513 beds. Of them, 19 are being treated in the ICU, said the hospital director.
Of the admitted patients, 188 have tested positive for Covid-19, while 135 are with symptoms and 79 have post-Covid health complications.
RMCH has been one of the most stretched hospitals in the country during the second wave of Covid-19, particularly since the latter part of May when the deadly Delta variant of the virus was identified in multiple samples in Rajshahi division.
ZCC
Covid: Khulna aims to inoculate over 1.16 lakh residents
Health authorities have set a target to inoculate over 1.16 lakh city residents in the first phase, amid a devastating second wave of the Covid pandemic.
The nationwide mass immunisation drive starts on August 7 and will continue till August 12. People above 18 years are eligible for getting a shot in the arm.
The mass immunisation programme will start in 31 wards of the city and there will be three centres in each ward, said Khulna City Corporation (KCC) health officer Swapan Haldar.
“Only Moderna vaccine doses will be given in the city. Some 200 women and men can get the jabs from each centre daily. As per the target, some 1,16,600 people would be covered under the vaccination programme,” said Swapan.
Besides, centres will be opened in primary schools and the designated places selected by the councillors concerned to mitigate the huge demand for Covid vaccine doses.
Two vaccinators and three volunteers will be there at each centre. Already 186 vaccinators have been given training, the health officer said.
The mass vaccination drive will begin at 9 am and will continue till 3 pm daily, and all eligible vaccine candidates would be asked to maintain social distancing norms.
The authorities will inform people through loudspeakers and all people have been asked to carry their NID card with them for taking vaccine doses.
The government is set to launch a nationwide mass vaccination drive from 14,000 vaccine centres from August 7, aimed at giving shots to one crore people in one week.
ZCC
7 more die of Covid at Kushtia hospital
Seven more people have died of Covid-19 at Kushtia General Hospital in the past 24 hours, officials said on Wednesday morning.
“All the deceased had tested positive for Covid,” said Md Mejbaul Alam, statistics officer of the hospital.
Besides, 143 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the district in the past 24 hours amid a devastating Covid situation across the country.
“Some 389 samples were tested during the period,” he said. On the other hand, the positivity rate currently stands at 36.76%.
Meanwhile, 227 people are currently undergoing treatment with Covid symptoms at the leading medical facility.
So far, 15,272 people have been infected with the virus in the district, while the death toll from Covid topped 606. Besides, 11,526 people have recovered from corona to date.
ZCC
Global Covid cases top 199 million
The overall number of global Covid cases has now surpassed the 199-million mark as the world continues to grapple against the devastating second wave of the pandemic.
According to the US-based Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count reached 199,499,792 while the death toll from the virus stood at 4,245,542 on Wednesday morning.
So far, 4,142,591,204 vaccine doses have been administered across the world.
The US, which is the world’s worst-hit country in terms of both cases and deaths, has so far logged 35,231,310 cases. Besides, 614,263 people have lost their lives in the US to date, as per the JHU data.
Brazil has registered 1,209 more Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, raising its national death toll to 558,432, the health ministry said on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the total caseload rose to 19,985,817 after 32,316 new cases were detected.
Brazil currently has the world’s second-highest pandemic death toll after the United States and the third-largest caseload after the United States and India.
The South American country is experiencing a new wave of infections, which has overwhelmed hospitals, said the ministry.
India’s Covid-19 tally rose to 31,726,507 on Tuesday as 30,549 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, according to the federal health ministry.
As many as 422 deaths were recorded since Monday morning, taking the death toll to 425,195.
Although the situation in Europe is improving, globally it is worsening as the Delta variant of Covid-19 has now been detected in 124 territories worldwide, says the World Health Organization (WHO).
Situation in Bangladesh
Amid the merciless onslaught of Covid-19 in Bangladesh, the country recorded 236 more deaths linked to the virus in 24 hours till Tuesday morning.
According to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), 15,776 more people came out positive with the virus during the period after the test of 55,284 samples.
The fresh numbers pushed the country’s death tally to 21,397 on Tuesday, with the caseload mounting to 1,296,093.
Meanwhile, the daily test positivity rate fell to 28.58 % from Monday’s 29.91%, while the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a 5% or below rate.
The country has been seeing over 14,300 cases and 230 deaths every day on an average for the last seven days.
The recovery rate, however, rose to 86.80%, and the case fatality remained unchanged at 1.65% compared to the same period, said the DGHS.
Amid the growing concerns about the highly infectious Delta variant, Dhaka division reported the highest 73 deaths, Chattogram 65, Khulna 32, Rajshahi 21, Sylhet, Rangpur and Mymensingh each 12, and Barishal eight deaths.
Lockdown extended
The government has extended the current lockdown till August 10 amid a surge in the Delta variant of Covid-19 across the country.
Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque announced the decision of the government while talking to reporters after an inter-ministerial meeting on Tuesday.
The government has made vaccination mandatory for people’s movement from August 11 and a decision has been taken to provide punitive action against those who will fail to get Covid shots in time.
The government is set to launch a mass vaccination drive at the village level from 14,000 vaccine centres from August 7, as one crore people will be inoculated in the next one week.
ZCC
Dhaka city dwellers breathe clean air throughout July, says study
This past July the Dhaka city dwellers got a special treat from the nature. The air they breathed in was much cleaner as the air quality significantly improved thanks largely to pollution-reducing rain, Eid exodus and Covid restrictions.
Even Dhaka got a niche among the world’s top ten cities having clean air from July 22-31 last, a relief for an overcrowded city known for its severe air pollution.
According to the data of the US-based IQAir Visual, Dhaka was also among the top five cities for particular times on July 24 and 30 for the good air quality, said Prof Dr Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumder, the founder and director of Centre for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS) of Stamford University Bangladesh.
The city’s air quality significantly improved in July as its Air Quality Index (AQI) score remained less than 100 in the most of days of the month.
The AQI score 0-50 is considered as ‘good’ air quality, while 51-100 as moderate, 101-150 as unhealthy for sensitive groups, 151-200 as unhealthy, 201-300 as very unhealthy and 301 and above as hazardous.
However, the Dhaka’s air AQI score remains above 200 and sometimes goes closed to 300 in the normal time.
Prof Majumder said the air quality got better in July mainly for rain, Eid exodus, less traffic movement and restrictions in many other activities due repeated Covid-19 lockdowns last month.
The highest average particulate matter (PM2.5) was 53.48 µg/m³ in Gulshan-2, while the lowest average concentration 18.89 µg/m³ in Motijheel area in July 2021, according to the findings of a study conducted by CAPS.
The air quality was recorded in 10 spots of the capital, including Gulshan-2 and Motijheel as part of the study carried out under a USAID and FCDO-funded Anti-Pollution Advocacy Project.
Of the 8 other places, the average PM2.5 concentration was 19.34 µg/m³ in Sangsad Bhaban area, 19.63 µg/m³ in Ahsan Manjil, 28.85 µg/m³ in Shahbagh, 30.23 µg/m³ in Tejgaon, 32.92 µg/m³ in Dhanmondhi, 33.84 µg/m³ in Agargaon, 36.94 µg/m³ in Uttara-Abdullapur and 40.10 µg/m³ in Mirpur-10.
The air quality was recorded as healthy in all the 10 places as the concentration 65 µg/m³ is considered as healthy air in Bangladesh as per the national air quality guideline.
In the last four months (April-July 2021), the lowest average concentration was 51.27 in Dhanmondi-32, while the highest average concentration was 71.23 in Gulshan-2, according to the findings.
During the 90 days period (Jan-March 2021), Dhaka’s air was ‘hazardous’ for 12 days, ‘very unhealthy’ for 58 days, ‘unhealthy’ for 19 days and ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups in one day.
Inhaling polluted air has long been recognized that it increases one’s chances of developing heart diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections and cancer, according to several studies.
As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.
Source: United News of Bangladesh