As a densely populated country with limited resources, isolating Covid 19 (coronavirus) patients has been a challenge for Bangladeshi authority. There are allegations that many private and even government hospitals are refusing patients. Here proportion of infected doctors and health workers are one of the highest in the world. As a riverine country water communication has played an important role here. There are many quality river ferries with cabins which can be used as a quarantine hospitals. Ferry owners have already proposed to use their ferries in this crisis period. Finally the government has decided to use river ferries. Because it will keep land areas safe from pandemic. Especially in coastal areas where there are shortage of hospital beds.
Six river ferries are prepared for keeping covid 19 patients. Four of them are kept in Dhaka and remaining two are in Barisal and Patuakhali. But it’s not yet clear, whether doctors, nurses and other health workers will be there. They may stay there or they may visit routinely for delivering treatment. Many experts fear that number of patients may rise dramatically unless we don’t follow WHO guideline to prevent the pandemic.