The Bangladesh government may shortly declare a state of emergency. In doing so the Bangladesh Army will marshal its resources to tackle the COVID-19 (Corona virus) pandemic that has arrived in the country.
The deployment will be carried out to identify persons infected with the virus, isolate them and provide them with necessary treatment at Army managed facilities. The Army may also be used to lock down large regions and clean areas where outbreaks occurred.
A battalion from each infantry brigade is to be deployed in what is to be the largest ever peacetime deployment of the Bangladesh Army.
Members of the Bangladesh Army will be wearing HAZMAT suits, which are being produced indigenously for the first time to deal with the outbreak.
Army tailor in said battalions have been recalled from vacation to undertake the production of the new personal protective equipment. Masks, gloves and eye protection googles are also to be provided to the members of the Bangladesh Army involved in the anti-Corona operations.
Countries around the world are scrambling to contain the Corona virus outbreak. Early detection and action can prevent mass scale disaster from occurring in a densely populated country like Bangladesh where healthcare is often subpar. Private companies have also stepped in to donate necessary HAZMAT suits, PPE and detection kits.
Corona detection kits
Government of Bangladesh on Thursday granted approval for the production of the locally developed low cost Corona testing kit. The kit requires some chemical reagents which need to be imported. The approval to import raw materials was given by the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) on Thursday.
The kit has been developed by Gono shasthaya Kendra, a Bangladesh based public health organisation that runs hospitals and medical research work in the country especially for the rural areas.After producing the kit, Gono shasthaya Kendra will have to send the kit to DGDA for final approval of WHO.
The full scale production of the kit may begin within the next two weeks reports the official news agency BSS.
Gono shasthaya Kendra claims that the kit will be able to detect Corona virus positive cases quickly within 15 minutes using the ‘Rapid Blot-Dot’ technique which looks for anti- bodies created in the body in response to Corona virus infection. According to the Gano shasthaya Kendra, the kit will cost approximately 250-300 Taka.
The standard method of diagnosis of Corona virus is by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) which uses sequencing from a nasopharyngeal swab or sputum sample.
