8 more Covid patients die in Rajshahi hospital

Eight more Covid patients died in the past 24 hours in Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital (RMCH), health officials said on Tuesday.

“Of the deceased, three had tested positive for Covid-19. Among them, two hailed from Chapainawabganj district and one belonged to Rajshahi district,” said Deputy Director of Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital, Saiful Ferdous.

The remaining five who died at the hospital in the past 24 hours, showed symptoms of Covid, he said. Of them, three hailed from Rajshahi, and the remaining two belonged to Chapainawabganj and Pabna districts, respectively.

In the past 24 hours, 33 patients have been admitted to the corona unit of the hospital. Of them, 16 are from Rajshahi, 14 from Chapainawabganj, one from Naogaon and two from Natore district.

With the fresh patients, a total of 257 people are currently undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Overall, 71 people have died in Rajshahi division since June 1. “Of them, 43 were confirmed Covid-positive patients, while the remaining showed symptoms of the infection,” said Saiful.

The hospital is literally struggling to accommodate the rising number of Covid patients, officials said.

It may also be mentioned here that authorities in many districts have imposed strict restrictions for a week to break the transmission of the Indian variant of coronavirus.

Rajshahi Deputy Commissioner Abdul Jalil announced the restrictions on June 2.

According to the fresh restrictions, no one will be allowed to step out of their house between 7 pm and 8 am unless there's an emergency.

During the lockdown, all modes of public transport will stay off the roads. However, the movement restrictions won't apply on vehicles providing emergency services.

Moreover, all shops, markets and restaurants will remain closed, except for grocery stores and pharmacies. This is to allow people to buy their daily essentials and medicines from their local grocers and chemists, respectively.

Besides, lockdown restrictions have been imposed in Naogaon municipality of Niamatpur for a week starting June 3.

To break the chain of Covid-19 transmission, the local administration of Chapainawabganj also imposed a 14-day lockdown till June 7.

Meanwhile, amid the spike of Covid-19 cases, the local administration has announced a week-long lockdown in Natore, which will come into effect from Wednesday.