COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh

On 22 January, the authorities at the Dhaka airport put the airports on alert by screening travellers from China.[24][25]

On 1 February, a special flight from Bangladesh evacuated 312 Bangladeshi citizens stranded in Wuhan.[26] The evacuees were quarantined for 14 days at the Ashkona Hajj Camp in Dhaka and other locations.[27][28] None of them tested positive for the coronavirus.[29][30]

On 8 March, the first three coronavirus cases were confirmed.[31] They included two men that recently returned from Italy and a female relative.[32] On the same day, the government decided to scale down the grand ceremony planned for Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's birth centenary on 17 March.[33]

On 15 March 142 passengers returned from Italy, who were also taken to the Ashkona Hajj camp. After they complained about the unsanitary conditions there, many of them were allowed to go home with advice to self-isolate. Health experts expressed serious reservations about the action.[34]

On 18 March, Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus death. The patient was aged over 70 and had other morbidities.[35] By the end of March Bangladesh had reported 51 confirmed cases and five deaths.

The government imposed "general holiday" (i.e. general lock-down) came into effect on 26 March, it was announced on 23 March and initially stated to be in place until 4 April.[36]

The "general holiday" (lockdown) due to end on 4 April was extended to April 11, then to April 14, then to April 25 and then again to May 5.[37] Bangladesh crossed the figure of 100 confirmed cases on 6 April and 1,000 confirmed cases on 14 April. On 20 April, the number of confirmed deaths crossed 100.[38]

The "general holiday' (lockdown) was extended to May 7, then to May 16 and finally to May 30, with the government announcing on May 27 there will be no further extension.[37] On the topic of easing the lockdown measures, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said "Economic activities have to be resumed for the sake of the lives and livelihoods of people. Most countries of the world have already been compelled to relax shutdown because it is not possible to restrict people's source of income for an indefinite period. And it is not at all possible for a developing country like Bangladesh too."[37]

On June 18, the number of confirmed cases crossed 100,000 (one lakh) people.[39]

On July 18, the number of confirmed cases crossed 200,000 (two lakh) people.[40]

A poster promoting social distancing

On 23 March, when Bangladesh had 33 confirmed cases, the government declared a ten-day nationwide holiday for the period 26 March – 4 April, ordering all public and private offices to be closed, with the exception for emergency services. People have been asked to practice social distancing and stay at home. Public transport would be limited and advice was given to avoid them.[42] The measure has been described as a "lockdown" by the media,[43][44] albeit a "relaxed" one.[45] The government asked the Army to ensure social distancing.[46] ABC News Australia reported that 290 teams of soldiers were deployed across the country, that streets were empty in the capital Dhaka and the roadside shops were closed. It also said that thousands of people left Dhaka for their home villages.[47]

The "general holiday" (lockdown) was extended several times throughout April and May, until officially ceasing on 30 May 2020.[37] Ending the lockdown appears to have been primarily driven by concerns regarding its economic impact, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina saying "Economic activities have to be resumed for the sake of the lives and livelihoods of people. Most countries of the world have already been compelled to relax shutdown because it is not possible to restrict people's source of income for an indefinite period. And it is not at all possible for a developing country like Bangladesh too."[37]

On 9 April, Bangladesh imposed a 'complete lockdown' on the Cox's Bazar District where the majority of the Rohingya refugee camps are located. "No entry, no exit – until the situation improves", said the government directive.[48]

The final set of restrictions on public movement were officially lifted on 1 September.[49] These restrictions had included prohibiting movement outdoors from 10 PM to 5 AM (except in case of emergencies), the closure of all shops, bazaars and malls after 8 PM and the prohibition of meetings, rallies and mass gatherings (which had come into effect from 4 August). The Road Transport and Bridges Ministry had also announced on 29 August that the restrictions on buses, which had hitherto directed buses to run below seat capacity and charge higher fares to passengers, would end.[49] A number of health experts expressed their concern at the news. Virologist Dr Nazrul Islam, member of the National Technical Advisory Committee for COVID-19 and former VC of BSMMU, said "the disease transmission rate should be under 5%, but till now the daily positive cases rate is still 15.97% and on Monday it was around 17%. So, it can be said that the time for lifting restrictions has not yet arrived."[50] And Professor Muzaherul Huq, a former adviser of World Health Organization's South East Asia region, told The Daily Star newspaper that "lifting of restrictions from public transport was a risky move ... if the physical distancing is relaxed in public transport, transmission would definitely rise."[51]

On 31 January, a special flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines with special quarantine, three physicians, a nurse, and required medical equipment on board flew to Wuhan, China to evacuate stranded Bangladeshi citizens.[26]

On 1 February 312 Bangladeshi citizens (297 were adults and 15 children) stranded in Wuhan, China were evacuated and brought back to Bangladesh. Most of the Bangladeshis were students and PhD researchers at different universities in the Hubei province in China where their provincial government launched multiple screening tests before allowing them to get on board the plane. Majority of the evacuees were quarantined for 14 days at the Hajj Camp in Ashkona in Dhaka and some at the Combined Military Hospital before being released two weeks later.[27][28] None of these returnees from Wuhan China were tested positive for coronavirus.[29][30]

On 22 January, the authorities at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) in Dhaka reported that they had put the airports on alert to prevent the spread of coronavirus in Bangladesh by screening travelers from China, where the virus had at that time infected nearly 300 people and killed six people. The airport claimed to turn on its thermal scanner to scan passengers to detect any infection in passengers traveling from China.[24] A.H.M. Touhid-ul Ahsan, director of the main Shahjalal International Airport, said doctors at the airport would look for fevers, coughs, breathing difficulties and sore throats. The country's Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research were to be notified of any passengers with symptoms for further examination, he said.[25]

On 2 February, the government of Bangladesh decided to suspend on-arrival visas for Chinese visitors.[52] The Chittagong port also announced that as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of coronavirus from the ships that bring goods from around the world, the port health officer would examine all sailors of the ships coming from the East Asian countries.[53]

On 14 March, on-arrival visas were suspended for all countries, and flights from all European countries other than the United Kingdom were stopped.[54] This reportedly increased tourist traffic at the beaches in Chittagong and Cox's Bazar, counteracting the government measure.[19]

International flights began to resume from Dhaka airport on 16 June 2020, with only Qatar Airways and Biman Bangladesh Airlines initially permitted to fly.[55] On 24 June, Emirates resumed flights to Dhaka, on a reduced capacity.[56]

On 3 May, according to new guidelines, the total number of recoveries in Bangladesh crossed 1,000 marks by surging sharply. In the beginning of June, over 10,000 coronavirus patients recovered so far. Two weeks later, on 15 June, the first day of monsoon, Bangladesh reported over 15,000 recoveries, the highest jump in the total number of recoveries in the country, taking it to 34,027. The total number of recoveries crossed 40,000 marks on 18 June and 50,000 one week later. At the beginning of July, the number of patients who have recovered from the coronavirus disease crossed 60,000 marks. Three days later, the number of recoveries from the coronavirus disease crossed 70,000 marks. On 8 July, the number of recoveries crossed 80,000 marks before exceeding the number of active cases. The number of people who have recovered from the disease crossed 90,000 marks on 12 July and 100,000 two days later. As of 14 July, there are now over 100,000 patients who have recovered from the coronavirus disease. The number of recoveries in Bangladesh exceeded the number of recoveries in France on 7 July and the number of recoveries in China one day later. The country also reported more than 50,000 new recoveries from 16 June to 9 July.

The recovery rate in Bangladesh was very low until early May. The recovery rate in the country improved sharply to about 11% on 3 May and kept improving over time. The recovery rate improved sharply again to nearly 38% in the middle of June. As of 12 July, the recovery rate is over 50%, which means that more than half of all patients have recovered from the disease. The recovery rate in Bangladesh exceeded the recovery rate in France on 7 July. Five days later, the recovery rate exceeded 50%.

In March and April 2020, the COVID-19 transmission rate in Bangladesh was around 2, which meant that two people could be infected with the virus from one person. However, the transmission rate of COVID-19 in the country fell as time passed. As of 26 June, the transmission rate of the coronavirus disease in the country is 1.05, which is a very good sign. Model-based simulations suggest that the 95% confidence interval for the time-varying reproduction number has been stable around 1.0 since June 2020.[57]

Health Minister Zahid Malik said that the situation in Bangladesh improved as the growth rate of infections slowed down and the doubling period of infections got longer and that the minimum number of COVID-19 tests performed daily in the country was also improved to 15,000. He also said that, on 3 July, the maximum growth rate of infections in the country fell to 2.5% the day after the number of COVID-19 cases exceeded 150,000. As of 3 July, Bangladesh sees a growth rate of infections less than 2.5%. The health minister said that, until 10 July, the minimum doubling period of infections in the country was improved to 25 days. As of 10 July, the number of coronavirus cases in Bangladesh takes more than 25 days to double.

Malik announced that Bangladesh started flattening the coronavirus curve on 23 June as thousands of tests were performed every day in the country to improve the situation and that the coronavirus curve flattened on the last eight days of June and the first six days of July. He also believed that excessive testing in Bangladesh caused the COVID-19 curve to flatten. Malik said that the curve flattened again after decreasing for six days. On 26 June, three days after the curve started flattening, a record of 18,498 samples was tested in the country, which was above the minimum number of tests performed every day.

Some health experts believed that Bangladesh succeeded in flattening the curve, slowing down the growth rate of infections and extending the doubling period of infections. They also said that excessive testing in the country improved the situation, slowed down the growth rate of infections and extended the doubling period of infections. The coronavirus curve in Bangladesh stopped increasing on 23 June and started decreasing two weeks later. On 13 July, the curve flattened again. As of 13 July, the COVID-19 curve in the country is flattening for another time. On 27 June, which was four days after the curve stopped increasing, there were more than 700,000 samples tested in the country.

Some people have been arrested for allegedly spreading false information about the coronavirus pandemic.[58] According to Human Rights Watch, "Since mid-March 2020, the authorities have apparently arrested at least a dozen people, including a doctor, opposition activists, and students, for their comments about coronavirus, most of them under the draconian Digital Security Act."[59]

Bangladesh has consistently shown one of the lowest test rates per capita in the world and concerns that the level of testing have been insufficient to accurately understand the spread of infection have often been aired.[60][61][62][63][64] The number of daily tests reached heights of approximately 18,000 by the end of June, but then began to rapidly decline in July (with typical numbers in the range of 10,000 to 14,000 per day throughout July and August).[65][64] A change in government policy was cited as the cause for the decline, following the introduction of a charge for tests (which had hitherto been free in government facilities) announced on June 29[66] and requirements for a doctor's referral for a test.[64]

The number of samples tested in Bangladesh exceeded 100,000 on 7 May. Less than two weeks later, the number of samples tested in the country exceeded 200,000. At the end of May, there were over 300,000 samples tested. On 8 June, more than 400,000 samples were tested in Bangladesh. The number of samples tested exceeded 500,000 six days later. On 21 June, there were more than 600,000 samples tested. The number of samples tested exceeded 700,000 on 27 June and 800,000 five days later. On 9 July, the number of samples tested in the country exceeded 900,000. On 17 July 2020, the number of tests conducted to date crossed the threshold of one million samples.

Bangladesh has 1,169 ICU beds, amounting to 0.72 beds per 100,000 citizens. Of these 432 beds are in government hospitals and 737 in private hospitals.[67] There are only 550 ventilators in the country.[68]

On 21 March, the IEDCR announced that 150 ICU beds would be made available for COVID treatment in Dhaka and more would be provided in other parts of Bangladesh.[67] By 8 April, it was reported that 112 ICU beds were available, of which 79 were in Dhaka, 26 in Mymensingh, 5 in Khulna and 2 in Sylhet.[69] The government was in the process of procuring 380 ventilators.[68] There were also 7,693 isolated beds around the country.[69]

On 21 June, China invited Bangladesh to get priority access to COVID-19 vaccine once it is developed. On 26 June, the Chinese government announced that they might perform second-phase clinical trials of the vaccine in Bangladesh.

The Chinese government also believed that the coronavirus vaccine, if developed, might be given to Bangladesh by August as the priority. In the middle of 2020, Bangladesh started developing the coronavirus vaccine. The clinical trial of the vaccine in the country began at that time.

In July 2020, Sinovac Biotech was given approval by the Bangladesh Medical Research Council to begin a third-phase trial of a potential COVID-19 vaccine at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh.[70]

The COVID-19 pandemic has heavily impacted household and individual level earnings in Bangladesh with around 13 percent of people have become unemployed; lower and middle-income classes have been experiencing a significant drop in income for the last few months. Consequently, the disposable income of the country people is following a declining trend. Meanwhile, the national poverty is forecasted to increase by 25.13 percent, claimed by Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS).[71]

The pandemic has taken a heavy toll on almost all sectors of the economy, inter alia, most notably, it has caused a reduction of exports by 16.93 percent, imports by 17 percent, and also a decline of average revenue for all small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by 66 percent in 2020 compared to 2019. Exceptionally, only remittance inflow has seen an 11 percent increase this year.[72]

Even though garment factories were allowed to continue operating under the country's lockdown, an estimated one million garment workers, or one-quarter of the workforce, were laid off due to declining orders for export.[73]

On 5 April, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced a stimulus package amounting to some US$8bn.[74]

Bangladesh has approximately 200,000 educational institutions across the country and over 40 million students.[75]

In March, Bangladesh closed all of its educational institutions in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Initially on 17 March, when Bangladesh had 8 confirmed cases, the government announced all schools would be closed for the remainder of March. Dhaka University was also closed for the same period.[54] The Education Ministry announced an extension of the closures to April 9. However, with the situation not improving Dhaka University announced on 9 April it would remain closed indefinitely.[76] With educational intuitions still closed by the end of April, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced that they could remain closed until September 2020, unless the situation improves.[75] On June 14, the ministry of education officially extended school closures to August 6.[77] On 27 August a Ministry of Education confirmed schools would remain closed until 3 October.[78]

Dhaka University began online classes in July 2020,[79] as have many other universities and schools. Experts and students have voiced concerns about accessibility to online classes for many students in Bangladesh; with poorer students, particularly in rural areas, lacking the devices and internet connectivity to participate in their classes.[80] Some have suggested online classes will only further the "educational divide" whereby the most disadvantaged students (who usually attend public universities on scholarships) will fall behind their peers due to lack of accessibility.[81]

Standardised school examinations have been impacted by the school closures. The HSC exams, which were scheduled to held in April 2020, were postponed indefinitely.[82] By August 2020 with schools still closed, there was much uncertainty regarding when, and even if, the JSC exams, PEC exams (which are normally scheduled for November) and HSC exams will be held.[83] On 24 August it was announced that the PEC exams will not be held, with assessments to be conducted by schools instead. Then on 27 August it was confirmed that the JSC would not be held either and a circular was issued extending the school closure until 3 October.[78]

Some education experts wanted all the educational institutions of Bangladesh closed until November. Others wanted all the educational institutions in the country to reopen by October. The education experts said that all of the educational institutions in Bangladesh will reopen only either if the maximum growth rate of infections is 2% or if the minimum doubling period of infections is 30 days. They also said that all of the educational institutions in the country will reopen only if the coronavirus curve flattens or decreases. According to some education experts, all the educational institutions will reopen only either if the maximum number of daily or new cases is 3,000 or if the minimum number of daily or new recoveries is 1,500. All the educational institutions will reopen only if the minimum recovery rate is 50%, according to other education experts.

In March, Bangladesh suspended all flights, both domestic and international, to manage the spread of the virus. Initially direct flights to the UK and China were exempted from the flight suspensions, but the UK was suspended in April too making China the sole exception.[84]

In the beginning of June, domestic flights resumed on limited scale. International flights resumed from Dhaka airport on 16 June 2020, with only Qatar Airways and Biman Bangladesh Airlines initially permitted to fly.[55] Flights to and from the UK resumed on 21 June. On 24 June, flights to and from the UAE became operational via Emirates.[56] Flights to and from Saudi Arabia resumed on 3 July. Nearly two weeks later, flights to and from Turkey resumed.

Presentation of a COVID-19 negative certificate became mandatory for all Bangladeshi nationals wishing to travel abroad from 23 July 2020. The government stipulated that all passengers must possess a document certifying a negative test result, which had been carried out within 72 hours prior to travel, regardless of destination and airline used.[85] These tests had to have been carried out at one of 16 specific government-listed testing facilities.[86] However, in an inter-ministry meeting on 30 July it was announced that the decision had been taken that the certificates will only be required for travelers whose destination country or chosen airline policy requires one.[87]

Domestic airline resumed operations from 1 June 2020, initially with very few passengers. The CAAB prescribed that all airlines have to keep at least 30 percent seats vacant on each flight to ensure social distancing by keeping a minimum gap of a seat between two passengers, if they are not from the same family, and that the front or the last row of seats on each flight must remain vacant for carrying any passenger who is suspected of carrying the coronavirus. Also crew are only to provide necessary in-flight services with no food or drink served in flights with an airtime of less than one and half hours.[88] On 13 September 2020 the restrictions on passenger seating were lifted, with only the requirement to leave two rows vacant for suspected COVID positive passengers remaining.[89]

The introduction of lock-down measures, economic declines and reduction in global mobility across the world has severely impacted Bangladeshi migrant workers. It is thought that around ten million Bangladeshis work overseas, especially across the middle east.[90] Thousands of these workers have been forced to return to Bangladesh, largely because of job lay-offs.[91] Kuwait for example has proposed a bill which would see 200,000 of the 350,000 Bangladeshi workers there compelled to leave the Gulf state.[92] Most of these workers have struggled to find work in Bangladesh on their return, with 70 per cent unemployed according to an International Organization for Migration report published in August 2020.[90]

At the time of the pandemic Bangladesh was housing over a million Rohingya refugees in refugee camps in Cox's Bazar. One in ten households in the camps were reported to have at least one individual above the age of five with a chronic illness or disability, increasing the risk of complications or death if they contract COVID-19.[93] The high population density, poor sanitation facilities and limited access to healthcare in the camps are all conducive to the spread of viral illness such as COVID-19.

On 9 April, Bangladesh imposed a 'complete lockdown' on the camps with "No entry, no exit – until the situation improves", said the government directive.[48] As of 23 June 2020, 46 Rohingya refugees had tested positive for the virus and five deaths had been confirmed.[94] As of 7 August 2020, the number of confirmed cases had risen to 78 and the number of deaths to six.[95]

A study by Save the Children and other carried out in May 2020 found that 40 per cent of Rohingya children in the camps expressed being scared of dying of the virus or losing loved ones to it.[96] "Children tell us they're scared of dying. The fear of death or losing a loved one can be very distressing for a child, especially when many have already experienced intense trauma and loss, having been forced from their homes in Myanmar and stuck in a congested refugee camp for the past three years." said Onno van Manen, Country Director for Save the Children in Bangladesh. Save the Children announced they were to open a new isolation and treatment centre for COVID-19 patients with a capacity of up to 60 beds.[96]

There are concerns that COVID-19 could be devastating for elderly Rohingya refugees, particularly as in June 2019 Amnesty International had reported that older Rohingya refugees in the camps in Bangladesh are often being left behind in the humanitarian response efforts.[97]

As of 17 April 2020, news media outlets confirmed that there were 147 Bangladeshis who died from the coronavirus in the United States.[98]

On 18 April 2020, during the general lockdown, a massive crowd of an estimated 100,000 people gathered in Sylhet to attend the funeral prayers of Islamic scholar Allama Maulana Zubayer Ahmed Ansari. Social distancing measures were not observed as crowds reportedly blocked nearly two kilometres of the Dhaka-Sylhet highway.[99]

In July 2020, several arrests were made after it emerged that Regent Hospital in Dhaka had issued thousands of fake COVID-19 negative certificates without conducting the testing.[100] The hospitals had allegedly "carried out 10,500 coronavirus tests, out of which 4,200 were genuine and the rest, 6,300 test reports, were given without conducting tests" according to a RAB spokesperson. It was estimated that two to three crore Taka (approximately 230,000 to 350,00 USD) may have been made through these illegal activities.[101] Following a nine-day manhunt, Regent Hospital Chairman Mohammad Shahed was arrested near the Indian border disguised in a burqa.[100][102] Regent Hospitals had signed a deal with the DGHS in March to provide COVID-19 testing, despite Regent Hospital's licence having expired in 2014, which was reportedly known to the health services division of the health ministry.[101]

Fear of the transmission of COVID-19, particularly in the early months of the outbreak, meant that many patients were turned away from hospitals (private and public), with some dying as a result.[103][104] In April 2020 for example, Dhaka University student Suman Chakma died after being denied treatment for lung cancer at several hospitals in Dhaka who feared his symptoms could be COVID-19.[105] The media reported on several more cases of patients lacking COVID-19 certificates being denied admission to multiple hospitals throughout April, May and June,[103] including that of a five-year-old child hit by a vehicle who died en-route between several hospitals in Chattogram[106] and even the additional secretary to the food ministry, Gautam Aich Sarker, died of a kidney condition after being turned away from several hospitals in Dhaka.[107] In June 2020, 22 year old nurse Habiba Sultana died after being denied emergency treatment at the hospital she worked at, following a stroke. She had tested negative for COVID-19, but the document had been misplaced and so her admission was refused, she was finally admitted hours later when the police got involved, but by then she had passed.[108]

The Government took a publicly strong stance against these incidences. In reference to the case of DU student Suman Chakma, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said of the doctors involved that "They don't deserve to work as doctor or do other jobs. I think they should be driven out of their jobs," and that "doctors have a duty to perform."[109] The Health Ministry warned of strict action against hospitals that denied treatment, including the cancellation of licenses, if they violate the order.[103] The DGHS stated that hospitals should inform them if they fail to admit any suspected COVID-19 patient requesting treatment and that "hospitals violating this order will face legal action".[103] On 11 May the health ministry issued an order that all private hospitals should keep separate arrangements for suspected coronavirus patients and not to turn away any patients if they have treatment facilities. The same day, the ministry gave a similar directive to the public hospitals.[110] On May 24, the ministry issued another order directing all the government and private hospitals with 50 or more beds to make separate arrangements for treating COVID-19 patients. However, despite these measures cases of patients being denied treatment on the grounds of suspected COVID-19 symptoms continued.[104][110]

Note: On 15 June, the total number of people who were recorded to have recovered from the coronavirus disease rose by over 15,000. The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) started to announce how many people recovered at hospital and home on this date.[111]