06-05-2020

wednesday

Dhaka: May 6, 2020; Baishakh 23, 1427 BS; Ramadan 12,1441 hijri

www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net

Regd.No.Da~2065, Vol.17; No.77; 8 Pages~Tk.8.00

international

China donates medical

supplies to Fiji to help

fight COVID-19

>Page 3

health

Can our body

detoxicated?

>Page 5

sport

Mashrafe advises Tamim

to trust ‘gut feeling’ to

be successful captain

>Page 6

Buddha

Purnima today

DHAKA : Buddha Purnima, the biggest

religious festival of the Buddhist community,

will be celebrated across the

country on Wednesday, reports UNB.

Buddha Purnima marks the birth,

enlightenment and death of Gautama

Buddha. On this day in 563 BC, Buddha

was born as Siddhartha Gautama in

Kopilabostu at the foothill of the

Himalayas.

He attained supreme enlightenment

at the age of 35 and finally departed into

‘nirvana’ at the age of 80 in 483 BC.

President Abdul Hamid and Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina have issued

separate messages greeting the

Buddhist community on the occasion.

President Hamid called upon the

Buddhists to celebrate their holy religious

festival at their respective

homes in view of the outbreak of

Covid-19 pandemic.

Flight operation to

remain suspended

till May 16

DHAKA : The Civil Aviation Authority

of Bangladesh (Caab) on Tuesday

extended the suspension of all international

and domestic flights till May 16,

aiming to prevent the spread of coronavirus,

reports UNB.

The restriction on operation of international

passenger flights has been

extended till May 16, said a Caab press

release on Tuesday.

Bahrain, Bhutan, Hong Kong, India,

Kuwait, Malaysia, the Maldives, Nepal,

Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka,

Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, the

United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the

United Kingdom (UK) will come under

the restriction, the release added.

But special flights, air ambulance,

emergency landing flights and cargo

flights will remain out of the purview of

the restriction, it said.

Bangladesh recorded the highest

number of single-day coronavirus cases

on Tuesday as 786 more people got

infected in the last 24 hours, raising the

total cases to 10,929.

Ramadan Iftar Sehri

12 --- 03:53 am

13 06:34 pm 03:52 am

14 06:34 pm 03:52 am

Zohr

04:05 AM

12:10 PM

04:45 PM

06:35 PM

07:53 PM

5:20 6:31

C’nawabganj mango growers

worried over marketing

amid virus restrictions

DHAKA : Bangladesh recorded the highest

number of single-day coronavirus caseson

Tuesdayas 786 more people got

infected in the last 24 hours, raising the

total cases to 10,929, reports UNB.

The death toll from the virus stood at

183 in the country as another person died

during the period.

Prof Dr Nasima Sultana, Additional

Director General of the Directorate

General of Health Services (DGHS), came

up with the disclosure in the daily online

health bulletin, held at the Management

Information System (MIS) in the afternoon.

Prof Dr Nasima said 1,403 people have

so far recovered from the coronavirus

infections in the country with 193 more

making recovery in the last 24 hours.

During the period, another 6,182 samples

have been collected from across the

country. Of these, 5,711 have been tested in

33 PCR testing labs. The only death

CHAPAINAWABGANJ : Mango growers

in Chapainawabganj, known as the

mango capital of the country , are passing

their days in great worries as the

marketing of their produce has become

uncertain amid the restrictions

imposed to slow down coronavirus

transmissions, reports UNB.

Local farmers said if the situation

does not improve they will have to

count huge financial losses in this season.

Mango is the main cash crop of

Chapainawabganj. Hundreds of delicious

varieties of mangoes, including

Gopalbhog, Khirsapat, Langra and

Fazli are produced in the district.

Mangoes produced here are supplied

to different parts of the country alongside

meeting the local demand and are

also exported to other countries. Mango

harvesting will start in mid-May.

This time, there is no smile on the

faces of mango growers and traders in

the region because of the corona situation,

said mango growers.

They said this season the yield is not

as good as previous years. In the beginning

of the season, there were huge

buds in mango orchards, but later that

declined due to unfavourable weather,

the added.

According to growers, they could not

take proper care of their gardens due to

the coronavirus situation and now they

are worried about the marketing of the

seasonal fruit amid suspension of transport

and restrictions on free movement

of people.

“Normally, seasonal fruit traders

come to buy mango orchards . But this

time, there is no orchard buyer due to

the corona restrictions. In such a condition,

we’re fearing of huge losses,” said

Ohid Ali, a mango grower of the district.

Another mango grower, Abdur

Rakib, of Arambagh area, said, “The

quantity of mangoes this year is much

poor than the last year’s. No wholesale

trader visited our orchards. If they don’t

come, how we’ll sell our mangoes!”

According to the Department of

Agriculture Extension (DAE), this year

mangoes were cultivated on 33,035

hectares of land in the district with a

target of producing 2.50 lakh metric

tonnes.

Nazrul Islam, Deputy Director of the

DAE, said mango growers are now

passing days amid serious anxieties due

to the coronavirus restrictions.

“Anyway, there’s no reason to worry

about. Initiatives will be taken from the

administration so that mango-laden

trucks could move to different areas

across the country,” he said.

Nazrul Islam said it will take 20-25

days for the mangoes to hit the market.

And by then, Ramadan will be over.

“After the Ramadan, there’ll be no

problem in marketing mangoes with

the improvement in the corona situation,”

he hoped.

Coronavirus cases in Bangladesh

hit 10,929; another dies

recorded in the last 24 hours was a man,

aged between21 and 30.

Among the figures of the deceased,

members of law enforcement agencies are

prominent, said Dr Nasima. “A number of

policemen have died from the virus. We’ve

also lost Colonel (retd) Prof Dr

Moniruzzaman who was a hematologist

working at Anwar Khan Modern Medical

College Hospital. The viral infection was

detected after his demise,” she said. Dr

Moniruzzaman is the second physician in

the country who died from COVID-19.

Dr Nasima mentioned that PCR testing

will start shortly in Chittagong Medical

College Hospital and Sheikh Hasina

Medical College in Jamalpur as both of the

institutions received PCR-testing

machines from Chattogram Veterinary

and Animal Sciences University.

In the past 24 hours, 128 people have

been taken to isolation while 2,477to

home and institutional quarantine.

Demanding launch of public transport or food assistance, transport workers blockaded road on the

entrance of the capital city on Tuesday.

Photo : TBT

Amid lockdown, transport movement has been increased in the capital city. The picture was taken from

Khilkhet area yesterday.

Photo : TBT

UP chairman, 6

members suspended

over irregularities in

relief distribution

DHAKA : The Local Government,

Rural Development and Cooperatives

Ministry has suspended a Union

Parishad (UP) chairman and six UP

members over irregularities in relief

distribution, reports UNB.

LGRD Ministry issued a notification

in this regard on Tuesday. So far, 49

public representatives have so far been

suspended for misappropriating relief

materials. Among them, 18 UP

chaiman, 29 UP member, one Zila

Parishad member and one councillor of

a municiplaity. Those who suspended

are Mujibur Rahman Hawladar, chairman

of Shirkhara Union of Sadar

upazila in Madaripur district, Rubel

Ezaradar alias Babul, member of no 1

ward Pedikhali Union in Rampal upazila

of Bagerhat, Sohrab Hossain Biswas,

member of no 8 ward of Maizpara

union in Sadar upazila of Narail, Selim

Molla, member of no 9 ward of

Bilashpur union in Jajira upazila of

Shariatpur, Rezaul Karim Khan

Shohag, member of no 8 ward of

Subidpur union in Nalchiti upazila in

Jhalakati, Mujibur Rahman, member

of number 3 ward of Kalapur union in

Srimangal upazila of Moulvibazar and

Sahida Begum Rupa, member of

(reserved seat) of Kalapur union in

Srimangal upazila of Moulvibazar.

The notice also asked the suspended

public representatives to explain through

respective deputy commissioners why

they should not be removed permanently

from their posts.

Banking transaction hrs

extended further

DHAKA : Banking transaction hours

have been extended further by 90 minutes

with effect from May 10, said a

Bangladesh Bank circular on Tuesday,

reports UNB.

During general holidays to curb

transmission of coronavirus, the transaction

hours were rescheduled from

10am to 1pm. The circular, issued by

Off-site Supervision Department of the

central bank, said transaction activities

will go on from 10am to 2:30pm including

a 15 minutes break for prayer from

1:15pm everyday from May 10 until further

order.

“The decision was taken to facilitate

the continued necessary banking services

for country’s trade and business

during the Ramadan and [ahead of]

Eid-ul-Fitr against the backdrop of the

government’s extension of general holidays

to prevent the coronavirus outbreak,”

said the circular.

Banks can keep their headquarters

and concerned offices open until

3:30pm during the period for their own

activities, it added.

The Bangladesh Bank also ordered

banks having online facilities to keep at

least one branch open at each upazila

considering their distance to facilitate

the transactions of their clients.

“If any such banks have more than

one branch, they can operate one by

one through by-rotation,” it said adding

that in such case, the clients must be

informed about the matter.

The banks must keep open at least

one branch everyday at each thana area

in the metropolitan cities. They can

keep operate more than one branch if

necessary, the BB said.

Bank said banks must keep open at

least one of their branches at important

locations at district level while all

branches of the authorised dealers category

banks must be open in metropolitan

cities and divisional headquarters.

All bank branches must remain open

in Motijheel and Dilkhusha in Dhaka

and Khatunganj and Agrabad in

Chattogram and also those located in

the labour-intensive industrial areas, it

said.

The central bank asked the banks to

ensure different kind of banking services

like deposit and withdrawal of

money, payment of labours by industry

owners, DD/Pay Order issue, treasury

chaplain, payment of different government

remunerations under different

social programmes, foreign remittance

disbursement, loan approval and disbursement

and also the payment of utility

bills by consumers during the banking

services.

Coronavirus

128 more stranded Bangladeshis

return from India

DHAKA : Another batch of 128

Bangladeshis, who got stuck in India

due to lockdown amid coronavirus outbreak,

returned home from New Delhi

on Tuesday.

A special flight of Biman Bangladesh

Airlines carrying Bangladeshi citizens

landed at Hazrat Shahjalal

International Airport in the afternoon.

So far, more than 2,000 Bangladeshi

nationals, including patients and students

who got stuck in a number of

Indian cities, have nowreturned home

in two phases by air, according to

Bangladesh High Commission in Delhi.

The High Commission said they have

started taking preparations to bring

back more Bangladeshis in the third

phase.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines will operate

four more special flights in coordination

with Bangladesh missions in

Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata depending

availability of adequate passengers.

The flights will be operated from

Kolkata on May 10, from Mumbai on

May 12, Bengaluru-Dhaka route on

May 13 and Delhi-Dhaka route on May

14, said the High Commission.

Meanwhile, the US-Bangla Airlines

will operate five special flights from

Chennai depending on approval.

They flights will be operated on May

8-10 and May 13-14.

Bangladeshi passengers who are willing

to return to home from India are

requested to contact the airlines.

Earlier on May 2, 318 more

Bangladeshis returned from Delhi and

Chennai in two special flights.

Bangladeshis, stranded in Indian

cities because of the lockdown since

March 25, returned home by air and

land routes with assistance of

Bangladesh missions in New Delhi,

Kolkata, Mumbai, Guwahati and

Agartala, said the High Commission

which has keptitsefforts on to facilitate

the return of more Bangladeshis who

are stuck in India.

NEWS

WeDNeSDAy, MAy 6, 2020

2

Farhad Hossain Sangram MP

distributes relief among Ansar

and VDP in Nasirnagar

Abdul HAnnAn, nAsirnAgAr Correspondent:

Alhaj bM Farhad Hossain sangram Mp of brahmanbaria-

1 constituency distributed relief among Ansar and Vdp

members of nasirnagar upazila of brahmanbaria district. in

two separate events in his constituency he handed over

prime Minister's gifts among Ansar members on tuesday.

At that time, he said, prime Minister sheikh Hasina has

dealt with every calamity of bangladesh very efficiently. this

time too she will be able to end this bad time with the

cooperation of all. everyone needs to pray for this. He also

urged everyone not to panic, be aware, follow government

instructions and ensure social distance. At the occasion he

distributed relief materials among 132 Ansar and Vdp

members in two separate events.

during the time, nasirnagar upazila Chairman and Awami

league president rafi uddin Ahmed, upazila nirbahi

GD-701/20 (4 x 3)

officer nazma Ashrafi, upazila Ansar Vdp officer Mizanur

rahman and others were present on the occasion.

GD-692/20 (4 x 3)

GD-697/20 (15 x 4)

GD-694/20 (15 x 4)

INTERNATIONAL

WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2020

3

Japan extends state of emergency

until May 31 for COVID-19 fight

China on Monday donated medical supplies to Fiji to help the South Pacific island nation fight

against COVID-19.

Photo : AP

China donates medical supplies

to Fiji to help fight COVID-19

China on Monday donated medical

supplies to Fiji to help the South Pacific

island nation fight against COVID-19,

reports UNB.

Speaking at the handover ceremony

of the medical supplies, Chinese

Ambassador to Fiji Qian Bo said the

Chinese government donated 300,000

U.S. dollars cash to the Fijian government

to support its combat against

COVID-19.

Qian handed 52 carton boxes of medical

supplies with a total value of about

270,000 Fijian dollars (about 119,880

U.S. dollars) to further support Fiji's

effort in going through the pandemic.

He said all those medical supplies will

serve critical roles in protecting frontier

medical staff, and identifying potential

cases, so as to contribute to the medical

capacity development in fighting the

pandemic.

The ambassador stressed that the

virus is a common enemy to all

mankind. China and Fiji have a stake in

each other's well-being and should stay

united and work together. "In the

midst of all this crisis, humanity is still

Former Hong Kong

leaders launch

pro-Beijing coalition

Two of Hong Kong's former

leaders launched a pro-Beijing

alliance Tuesday to

uphold China's "one country,

two systems" policy and

work to revive the city's

economy following months

of anti-government protests,

reports UNB.

The move by former chief

executives Tung Chee-hwa

and Leung Chun-ying comes

ahead of key legislative elections

in September. The ruling

pro-Beijing government

took a drubbing in district

elections held last year amid

demonstrations calling for

greater democracy.

Tung and Leung said the

new Hong Kong Coalition

will support employment by

creating jobs, providing

internships and offering volunteer

work to fresh graduates.

They did not provide

details of how they would do

that.

"We will give full play to

'One Country, Two Systems'

and recover our economy,

and continue to safeguard

the rule of law so that we can

achieve stability and prosperity

in Hong Kong," said

Tung, who led the city from

1997 to 2005.

Hong Kong was riven by

anti-government protests

last year against what critics

see as growing Chinese

influence in the city's affairs.

The former British colony

was handed back to China in

1997 under the "one-country,

two-systems" framework

in which Hong Kong

was given freedoms not

enjoyed on the mainland

and promised a high degree

of autonomy over local

affairs for 50 years.

During the protests, hundreds

of thousands took to

the streets and violent

clashes erupted between

police and hard-line

demonstrators. Among the

protesters demands was

the direct election of the

city's leader, currently

picked by a committee.

very strong and for that we are truly

grateful to the People's Republic of China

for you officials and for the many

other organizations within China that

are supporting the fight in Fiji and also

the Pacific," said Fiji's Minister for

Health and Medical Services Ifereimi

Waqainabete.

Waqainabete said the donation from

China will further strengthen Fiji's fight

against the virus and also enhance the

strong development partnership with

China.

"Going forward, this pandemic will

only make us stronger and also grant us

the ability to share expertise between

Fiji and China." The minister also told

Xinhua that he congratulated China for

its good work to contain the COVID-19

and the expertise China has shared

with the countries such as Fiji.

As for how China and Fiji can

strengthen its cooperation in the field

of health, especially in the battle against

this deadly virus, he said the two countries

connect in many ways in terms of

health. "This is not the first time we

have health support from China. We

had some of our health staff for training

in China, and we have had some visits

from China to our hospitals and health

centers."

The batch of medical supply to Fiji on

Monday, the first of its kind by the Chinese

government after the outbreak

early this year, includes 1,000 pieces of

medical disposable protective clothing,

1,000 pieces of medical protective goggles

and 1,000 pieces of N95 protective

face masks among others.

According to Qian, a batch of face

masks donated by China's Jiangmen

Municipal Government of Guangdong

Province, and other batches of medical

supplies donated by the Chinese people

from all walks of life will be arriving in

Fiji very soon.

Earlier next week, 1,000 tests of PCR

diagnosis test kits donated by the Chinese

government, and medical supplies

donated by the Chinese People's Association

for Friendship with Foreign

Countries, by Guangdong Provincial

Government and Chinese companies in

Fiji are expected to arrive via a French

Polynesian courtesy chartered flight.

Egypt confirms 348

new cases, 7 deaths

of COVID-19

Egypt reported on Monday 348 new cases

and seven deaths of COVID-19, raising the

total infections registered in the country to

6,813 including 436 deaths, said the Egyptian

health ministry in a statement.

The ministry's spokesman Khaled Megahed

pointed out that 70 more COVID-19

patients were completely cured and discharged

from quarantine hospitals on Monday,

increasing total recoveries to 1,632,

reports UNB.

"All the cases that are registered as positive

for the novel coronavirus virus receive medical

care at quarantine hospitals in accordance

with the guidelines of the World

Health Organization," Megahed emphasized.

Egypt announced its first confirmed

case of COVID-19 on Feb. 14 and the first

death on March 8, and both were foreigners.

The seven deaths confirmed on Monday

mark the lowest daily fatalities of COVID-19

in Egypt since April 24. The highest singleday

coronavirus deaths in the country stood

at 22 and were reported on April 28.

The Egyptian government has recently started

to ease restrictions and reopen services and

offices that have been closed for more than six

weeks, within a coexistence plan to carry out

precautionary measures while resuming services

and economic activities.

The most populous Arab country is currently

implementing a nationwide nine-hour

nighttime curfew that will continue throughout

the ongoing Muslim holy month of

Ramadan.

Egypt reported on Monday 348 new cases and seven deaths of COVID-19,

raising the total infections registered in the country to 6,813 including 436

deaths, said the Egyptian health ministry in a statement. Photo : AP

The Japanese government on Monday

officially announced its decision

to extend the nationwide state of

emergency for COVID-19 by nearly a

month until May 31, reports UNB.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo

Abe made the announcement at a

meeting of a government task force

on the coronavirus response to

extend the state of emergency

beyond May 6, the last day of Japan's

Golden Week holiday which was the

initial expiration date.

"I will extend the state of emergency

I declared on April 7 to May

31. All prefectures are subject to it

and there is no change to the emergency

framework," Abe said during

the meeting.

"The one-month period is designed

for us to prepare for the next step

and put an end to the state of emergency,"

Abe said, adding that the

fight against COVID-19 could be

protracted.

He also reiterated his calls for people

to refrain from traveling to other

prefectures and reduce person-toperson

contact by 80 percent in 13

prefectures such as Tokyo and Osaka

that require "special caution."

The decision to extend the state of

emergency was approved by an advisory

panel of medical experts in the

morning. The government then notified

the parliament of the decision.

Coronavirus cuts

'deep scars' through

meatpacking cities

As the coronavirus spread

from the nation's meatpacking

plants to the broader

communities where they are

located, it burned through a

modest duplex in Waterloo,

Iowa, reports UNB.

In the downstairs unit

lived Jim Orvis, 65, a

beloved friend and uncle

who worked in the laundry

department at the Tyson

Foods pork processing facility,

the largest employer in

Waterloo. Upstairs was

Arthur Scott, a 51-year-old

father who was getting his

life back on track after a

prison term for drugs. He

worked 25 miles (40.23 kilometers)

away at the Tyson

dog treats factory in Independence,

Iowa.

The two men were not well

acquainted. But both fell ill

and died last month within

days of each other from

COVID-19 - casualties of an

outbreak linked to the

Waterloo plant that spread

across the city of 68,000

people. Similar spread is

happening in other communities

where the economy

centers around raising hogs

and cattle and processing

their meat, including the hot

spots of Grand Island,

Nebraska, and Worthington,

Minnesota.

The virus is "devastating

everything," said duplex

owner Jose Garcia, who

received notification two

days apart from his deceased

tenants' relatives. "These

two guys were here last

week. Now they are gone. It's

crazy." He said it's possible

one of the men infected the

other because they shared

an entryway, or that they

each contracted the virus

separately at their workplaces.

The virus threatens

the communities' most vulnerable

populations, including

low-income workers and

their extended families.

"They're afraid of catching

the virus. They're afraid of

spreading it to family members.

Some of them are

afraid of dying," said the

Rev. Jim Callahan, of the

Church of St. Mary of Worthington,

a city of 13,000

that has attracted immigrants

from across the globe

to work at the JBS pork processing

plant.

"One guy said to me, 'I

risked my life coming here. I

never thought something

that I can't see could take me

out.'" In Grand Island, an

outbreak linked to a JBS

beef plant that is the city's

largest employer spread rapidly

across the rural central

Nebraska region, killing

more than three dozen people.

Many of the dead were

elderly residents.

Economic revitalization minister

Yasutoshi Nishimura told the parliament

that the pace of the declining

of newly confirmed cases is not

fast enough, though the number of

new cases has been on a downward

trend.

"We need to see a further reduction

in new cases," Nishimura said.

The extension comes as the medical

system has come under mounting

pressure with increasing cases

and sluggish economic activities due

to stay-at-home requests and business

closure.

Abe declared a month-long state of

emergency on April 7 for seven prefectures

including Tokyo and Osaka,

and then expanded it to the entire

nation on April 16.

The Japanese government on Monday officially announced its

decision to extend the nationwide state of emergency for

COVID-19 by nearly a month until May 31.

Photo : AP

Venezuela: 2 US 'mercenaries'

among those nabbed after raid

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said

authorities arrested two U.S. citizens among

a group of "mercenaries" on Monday, a day

after a beach raid purportedly aimed at capturing

the socialist leader that authorities say

they foiled, reports UNB.

Maduro held up a pair of blue U.S. passports,

reading off the names and birth dates

on them in a nationwide broadcast on state

television. He showed images of the fishing

boats the alleged attackers rode in on and

equipment like walkie-talkies and nightvision

glasses collected in what Maduro

called an "intense" couple of days. He

blamed the attacks on the Trump administration

and neighboring Colombia, both of

which have denied involvement.

"The United States government is fully and

completely involved in this defeated raid,"

Maduro said, praising members of a fishing

village for cornering one group in the sweep

netting the "professional American mercenaries."

Before dawn on Sunday, officials say the

first attack started on a beach near

Venezuela's port city of La Guaira, when

security forces made the first two arrests and

killed eight others attempting to make a

landing by speedboats.

The two U.S. citizens arrested Monday

were identified as as Luke Denman and

Airan Berry, both former U.S. special forces

soldiers.

Florida-based ex-Green Beret Jordan

Goudreau said earlier Monday that he was

working with the two men in a mission

intending to detain Maduro and "liberate"

Venezuela. Goudreau has claimed responsibility

for the operation.

The two served in Iraq and Afghanistan

with him in the U.S. military, Goudreau said,

adding that they were part of this alleged

mission in Venezuela called "Operation

Gideon." The aim was to capture Maduro.

Venezuela has been in a deepening political

and economic crisis under Maduro's rule.

Crumbling public services such as running

water, electricity and medical care have driven

nearly 5 million to migrate. But Maduro

still controls all levers of power despite a

U.S.-led campaign to oust him. It recently

indicted Maduro as a drug trafficker and

offered a $15 million reward for his arrest.

Venezuela and the United States broke

diplomatic ties last year amid heightened

tensions, so there is no U.S. embassy in Caracas.

Officials from the U.S. State Department

did not respond Monday to a request by The

Associated Press for comment.

"I've tried to engage everybody I know at

every level," Goudreau said of the attempt to

help his detained colleagues. "Nobody's

returning my calls. It's a nightmare."

Goudreau's account of the confusing raid

has at times seemed contradictory - for

example, he says he was plotting a rebellion

for months while claiming not to have

received a single penny. Meanwhile, a selfaggrandizing

Maduro has thrived broadcasting

videos on state TV of what he says was a

flawless defense of the nation's sovereignty.

Kay Denman, the mother of one of the

Americans, said the last time she heard from

her son was a few weeks when he texted her

from an undisclosed location to ask how she

was coping with the coronavirus pandemic.

She said she never heard her son discuss

Venezuela and only learned of his possible

capture there after his friends called when

they saw the reports on social media.

"The first time I heard Jordan Goudreau's

name was today," she said when reached at

her home in Austin, Texas.

Goudreau has said he reached an agreement

with the U.S.-backed Venezuelan

opposition leader Juan Guaido to overthrow

Maduro, which Guaido has denied. The

opposition leader said he had nothing to do

with Sunday's raid.

Goudreau says Guaido never fulfilled the

agreement, but the former Green Beret

pushed ahead with an underfunded operation

with just 60 fighters, including the two

U.S. veterans.

He said he last communicated with Denman

and Berry when they were adrift in a

boat "hugging" the Caribbean coast of

Venezuela. They were still in their boat following

an initial confrontation with the

Venezuelan Navy early Sunday, he said.

China’s reopening offers

“useful lessons” for other

economies: expert

China's reopening following the COVID-19 outbreak offers some "useful lessons" for other

economies, an economist from Goldman Sachs told U.S. media on Monday, reports UNB.

"China started lifting lockdown measures on Wuhan last month when new cases were still

surging in many countries. But China's experience so far showed that a full economic recovery

will take time," said Andrew Tilton, chief Asia economist at the world leading investment

banking company, in an interview with CNBC.

"I think the industrial sector probably comes back before the services side," he said. "But

others, such as those in the tourism sector, may take longer to restart activity."

In China, policymakers appeared cautious about allowing businesses such as movie theaters

and gyms to reopen, Tilton noted.

"That means there's still some way to go before the country returns to a situation that's close

to 'normal'," said the economist. "In other countries, that would not happen until 2021."

Over the past few weeks, several countries started to ease restrictions imposed amid the

pandemic, which include closing borders and suspending non-essential businesses, in a bid

to boost economy. However, health experts have warned that rolling back those measures too

quickly might lead to a surge in COVID-19 cases.

EDITORIAL

wEDnESDaY, maY 6, 2020

4

COVID-19: The greatest challenge facing humanity

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Health care system

struggles to cope

with Corona

As coronavirus cases mount in the country ,our

government struggles to keep its front-line

healthcare workers free from getting infected,

which has further strained the country's medical

facilities.At least 251 doctors had tested positive for

coronavirus by the last week of April, according to the

Bangladesh Doctors Foundation (BDF), as the group

blamed a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE)

and infections from patients for the outbreak among

the doctors. Like many countries, Bangladesh is also

grappling with a severe shortage of (PPE) for its

health workers.A recent study by the country's BRAC

University found that nearly 25 percent of doctors and

nurses - and 60 percent of medical support staff -

engaged in treating coronavirus patients are yet to

receive PPE.Health workers have also complained

about the quality of PPE being provided to

them."Also, we are told to reuse the PPE even though

they are meant for one-time usage."

Meerjady Sabrina Flora, director of the Bangladesh

government's Institute of Epidemiology,Disease

Control and Research, admitted there was a shortage

of "quality" PPE."It's not our unique problem:

healthcare workers across the world are facing an

acute crisis of PPE. We are trying to outsource quality

PPE from different places. Several private

organisations have come forward to donate PPE," she

told Al Jazeera.As demands for PPE have increased,

some ready-made garment (RMG) factories started

producing it. Bangladesh is the second-largest RMG

exporter after China.

However, the RMG factories can only manufacture

chemical-resistant PPE, and do not have a dust-free

and medical-grade environment to produce medicalgrade

equipment."Without medical-grade PPE, our

front-line healthcare workers are exposed to possible

COVID-19 infection," Nirupam Das, BDF's chief

administrator, told this writer.

Once infected with coronavirus, the doctors are

quarantined and the hospital ward where they worked

is shut for safety measures.According to the BDF data,

intensive care units and general wards of as many as

11 hospitals across Bangladesh had to be closed down

after healthcare workers were infected."Bangladesh

already has a fragile healthcare system. If we are

forced to send our doctors to quarantine, then it will

be extremely difficult for us to continue our fight

against coronavirus," said an insider

source.According to the World Bank's development

indicators, Bangladesh's number of doctors per 1,000

people in 2017 was 0.5 - one of the lowest in the world.

Another problem the healthcare workers in

Bangladesh are facing is that patients are concealing

their medical symptoms and related information to

avoid stigma, social isolation or quarantine.Many

people believe that if they get infected, their houses

will be locked down and their family members will be

treated negatively.

Besides, the designated hospitals for treating

coronavirus patients are full to their capacity, forcing

people displaying coronavirus-like symptoms to flock

to public and private hospitals.Since those hospitals

are not treating COVID-19 patients, people are trying

to get treatment there by hiding their symptoms.

In a recent news briefing, Bangladesh's Minister of

Health Zahid Maleque said, "It is a big problem that

many people carrying the symptoms of COVID-19 are

concealing information and showing little interest in

undergoing tests.""That is why many of our doctors

and health workers are getting infected with the virus.

Such a tendency is very alarming," he said.

Faisal Islam Fahim, a medical officer at Sher-e-

Bangla Medical College and Hospital in Barisal

District, informed that about 150 doctors of his

hospital were forced to go into quarantine after two of

them were found to be infected. The two doctors had

handled a male patient who hid his symptoms to avoid

quarantine."The patient lied about respiratory

problems and pain in his throat and got admitted in

the hospital. Two internee doctors handled him and

grew suspicious once the patient showed symptoms.

Later he was found to be COVID-19 positive. But the

damage was done by then," said Fahim.

A similar incident happened at the Dhaka Medical

College and Hospital, whose principal Khan Abul

Kalam Azad admitted that a female patient admitted

there had hidden her coronavirus symptoms."The

patient later tested positive for the virus and four of

our nurses who handled her got infected," he

said.Azad added that another doctor at Suhrawardy

Hospital in the capital also tested positive after a

COVID-19 patient concealed information.

"Those people who are hiding their symptoms don't

understand the problem. If our doctors and nurses get

infected with COVID-19 by taking care of untested

patients, then who will later take care of the patients?"

First of all, I would like to convey

my congratulations to the wise

leadership, led by His Highness

Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan,

President of the UAE, and to the UAE

people; both citizens and residents, on

the holy month of Ramadan, which falls

this year amid exceptional

circumstances.

May Allah, the Almighty, protect our

country from all evil and make the holy

month, as it has always been, a month

of goodness and blessings for the whole

world.

I would also like to congratulate the

leadership and the entire country for

the tremendous efforts being made to

fight the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)

pandemic. We are confident that we

will beat the virus and overcome its

challenges, God willing.

The novel coronavirus has become a

pressing issue. It is rare to see a global

issue receive this level of attention. It

dominates discussions, day and night.

Everyone is sharing their opinions on it;

the young and the old, the educated and

the ignorant.

It has become a topic in the media in

which everyone writes about and offers

their perspectives, even though it is a

specialised issue in terms of medical

treatment, including the response to it,

as well as its political and economic

consequences.

Despite its negative impact, this may

be justifiable. The novel coronavirus

pandemic, by all accounts, is the

greatest challenge facing humanity

since the end of Second World War.

This is not because it is the first of its

kind; plague, Spanish flu and other

epidemics killed millions of people, but

its consequences have impacted all

countries of the world, with no

exception.

It affects all aspects of life in a way the

world has never experienced before.

Therefore, governments have been

forced to mobilise and take

unprecedented measures to fight and

contain the outbreak.

First: Impact on all aspects of life

The effects of the novel coronavirus

pandemic have gone beyond all

expectations. It is rare, even

unprecedented, that a pandemic or

disaster, whether natural or human

made, could result in all of these

implications. All aspects of human life,

or group of people, have been affected

by the virus in one way or another.

Its most significant impact will likely

be on the poor and less fortunate in

societies around the world, as it does

not only threaten the quality of life, but

life itself for millions of people; even

animals have not been spared from this

pandemic. The effects of the virus

outbreak have been catastrophic in

various sectors of the economy, without

exception. It has almost paralysed the

tourism sector. The travel and tourism

industry accounts for more than 10 per

cent of global economic growth; what

increases the importance of this sector

is that it provides approximately 320

million jobs, i.e. 10 per cent of total jobs

worldwide.

Indeed, tourism is a major source of

income for many countries. It is also a

multi-stage industry, which depends on

other sectors. Therefore, it is an

essential component of the economic

development process; as well as a key

source for foreign currencies. The

transportation sector, especially

aviation, has been significantly affected.

It has come to a complete standstill in

The pandemic

has disrupted

the regular

operations of

almost every

sector around

the world,

i n c l u d i n g

e d u c a t i o n .

The decision

of Cambridge International and

Pearson Edexcel not to hold

examinations for the May/June

2020 session came as no surprise.

However, the announcement to

award grades despite cancellation of

the examinations created a

shockwave of confusion. Quazi

Rafquat Hossain, director of British

Columbia School and the founder of

Think Tank Ltd gave an insight into

the entire process of how exactly the

grades are going to be assessed.

When he was asked -- since the

examinations are not being held,

instead of awarding the grades,

don't you think it would have been

Jamal SanaD al SuwaIDI

many countries. Closing airspace has

caused heavy losses, estimated at more

than $300 billion, while closing borders

has prevented the movement of people

between most, if not all, countries. It

has also disrupted global supply chains,

which seldom happens, even in

disasters or major wars.

All of these factors, and others, have

caused a sharp rise in unemployment

rates, reaching record numbers in some

countries. In the United States, the

number of people who applied for

unemployment benefits stood at more

than 26.5 million people in just five

weeks; double the number of jobs lost

during the Great Recession (2007-

2009).

In early April 2020, an African Union

study revealed that 20 million jobs are

at risk in the continent, due to the

consequences of the coronavirus.

One of the most serious effects is the

increase in the number of poor in the

world. The spread of the virus may

undermine efforts to combat poverty.

Oxfam, an international nongovernment

organisation focusing on

the alleviation of global poverty, warns

in a recent report that half a billion

more people in the world could be

pushed into poverty due to

consequences of the virus; nearly twice

as many as the number recorded in

2019. Indeed, half of the total world

population, which stands at 7.8 billion

people, may be forced into poverty at

the end of this pandemic.

The virus outbreak and uncontrolled

spread, especially in Africa and

developing countries, may lead to the

deaths of millions of people. As the

World Food Programme forecasts, 130

million people could be pushed to the

brink of starvation, bringing the

number to 265 million globally.

Second: Social impact

Undoubtedly, the outbreak has had

social and psychological impacts. The

precautionary measures that countries

were forced to take, including isolation,

social distancing and staying at home,

have had different effects socially.

An increase in family violence and

mental illnesses has been reported,

showing that the loss of jobs has

repercussions, not only on livelihood or

the standard of living, but also on

people's behaviour and actions.

This is a result of the serious

consequences the deadly virus has had

on people's lives, including their

livelihood; from the nature of work to

everyday activities, it has turned their

lives upside down.

Third: Weak international

cooperation.

The novel coronavirus pandemic has

revealed a clear imbalance in the

system of international relations, as

international cooperation in the face of

the pandemic has generally been weak.

While China was the focus of tough

criticism due to its lack of transparency

Of Exams Cancellation

QuazI RafQuaT HOSSaIn

better if candidates were allowed to

shift to the next session? Quazi

Rafquat Hossain said the

candidates, at their discretion, can

definitely decide to sit for the

examinations in the next Autumn

2020 session if they do not want the

predicted grades. A substantial

number of candidates are opting for

centre assessment grades for

several reasons. Some candidates

were supposed to complete their A

level examination this May/June

session. They had already applied

and had been accepted to overseas

universities. They were supposed to

and cooperation in sharing information

on the realities of the outbreak,

including its transmission and spread,

some countries resorted, at the

beginning of the outbreak, to closing

themselves off, thinking they were safe.

Some even underestimated the

epidemic. Even after the extent of the

outbreak became more apparent, and

the virus continued spreading to several

countries around the world,

international cooperation remained

weak. With the exception of very few,

each country began to focus on looking

after its own affairs, as if they were

living in a different world.

Moreover, international competition

intensified; efforts to obtain medical

supplies and equipment sometimes

reached a point close to 'piracy', where

countries attempted to unethically seize

medical equipment, while other

countries admitted that they resorted to

theft.

In addition, some countries issued

instructions and initiated systems,

regulations and even strict legislation to

prevent the export of vital medical

equipment, such as respirators,

necessary to save the lives of critical

The transportation sector, especially aviation, has

been significantly affected. It has come to a complete

standstill in many countries. Closing airspace has

caused heavy losses, estimated at more than $300

billion, while closing borders has prevented the

movement of people between most, if not all, countries.

It has also disrupted global supply chains, which

seldom happens, even in disasters or major wars.

cases.

coronavirus

Researchers at the Microbiology

Research Facility work with

coronavirus samples to prevent or

reduce the severity of the coronavirus

disease (COVID-19), at the University

of Minnesota in Minneapolis, US

Image Credit: Reuters

All of this reflects the extent of the

breakdown in international relations at

a time that can aptly be called the 'Age

of Corona'.

This of course challenges several

hypotheses on international

cooperation and shared interest,

particularly the imperative that the

world has become one village.

This notion has long emphasised the

role of international corporations in

promoting global cooperation, the need

for solidarity between nations by virtue

of common interests, and

unprecedented interdependence,

especially since the end of the Cold War.

In fact, the current crisis has

reinforced interpretations of the

realism theory, which holds that the

state is the primary unit and main actor

in international relations, assuming the

self-interest of states before any

consideration of values and morals.

Fourth: The absence of global

leadership

One of the most obvious

manifestations of the novel coronavirus

pandemic has been the absence of

global leadership. This challenge was a

real test for US leadership, especially

after the criticisms it has been exposed

to in recent years; its declining role as a

global leader before the virus outbreak

has seen it effectively abandon a

leadership position.

start their university classes from

September. Shifting to the next

session is not the best option for

these candidates. However,

candidates who are determined to

withdraw and transfer to the next

Autumn session, must keep the

deadline in mind.

How a fair evaluation could be

assured? In reply Quazi Rafquat

In reply Quazi Rafquat Hossain said that they were

working day in, day out to prepare a real time grading

system for our candidates. we are well aware that some

students may opt for unfair means, which is why we

would be timing the entire assessment.

Hossain said that they were working

day in, day out to prepare a real

time grading system for our

candidates. We are well aware that

some students may opt for unfair

means, which is why we would be

Instead of spearheading global

efforts, and assuming its prescribed role

as a global superpower claiming to lead

the world, its response, internationally

and locally, was substandard at best.

The US president underestimated the

severity of the situation locally, with the

catastrophic outcome that the US became

the epicentre of the virus outbreak and

the worst affected by it, whether in the

number of cases or deaths. Even after the

outbreak, there was hesitation in taking

precautionary measures, as well as a

move to lift these measures before the

virus was under control.

Fifth: The global energy market

is the big loser

The energy sector is also likely to be one

of the sectors most affected by the

outbreak of the novel coronavirus; in fact,

the repercussions have been truly

catastrophic. Who would have expected,

even imagined, that oil prices would drop

below zero, in a historical precedent to the

point where the seller had to pay the

buyer, delivering the biggest blow to the

oil markets in history?

Without delving into the details and

factors affecting it, from supply and

demand to quality, this is a reality that

does call for closer examination. The

deterioration of prices and the way it

happened is of great importance.

First and foremost, it confirms that oil,

commonly known as 'black gold', which

has long been the backbone of industry,

rather the entire global economy, is losing

its value as the strategic commodity it

once was.

This does not mean, in any way, that its

role as a commodity, like many other

commodities, will decline; it will remain

the primary source of energy in the world

for a long time. Nevertheless, there will be

a push toward diversification of energy

sources on a global scale and there will be

greater investment in this field. The

energy crisis also raises the alarm for

countries that depend on oil as a main

resource

It presents an opportunity for countries

in the region to accelerate programs and

policies to diversify the economy and

sources of income, and to focus on the

true investment, which is in people, not

factories, as the late Sheikh Zayed bin

Sultan Al Nahyan said.

Sixth: The World Health

Organisation at the forefront

The World Health Organisation

(WHO) has not survived the impact of

the coronavirus outbreak unscathed.

Though the pandemic has highlighted

the role of the Organisation, pushing it

to the forefront, it has been the target of

unprecedented criticism, especially

regarding the implementation of

International Health Regulations.

These regulations aim to ease

cooperation among countries to save

lives, as well as to preserve sources of

livelihood, in the event of global diseases

and pandemics. These regulations

obligate member states to disclose, assess

and report public health conditions.

The Organisation has been accused of

delaying actions to address the virus. It

was heavily criticised for its delay in

announcing the virus as a pandemic, a

step that was taken two months after the

virus outbreak. By that time, the virus had

already spread rapidly across the globe.

Indeed, this delay had serious

consequences.

Source : Gulf News

timing the entire assessment. We

are also aware that some students

may feel that their scripts may not

be aptly checked. This is why we

have chosen a computerised

checking method to eliminate any

form of human error in the

evaluation process.

"I would also like to stress that

online assessments are not the

only determining factor for the

centre assessment grades. We

would be considering a wide range

of evidence to determine the

predicted grades for our

candidates. These would include

any class work, assignments and

any mock tests that the students

might have taken throughout their

entire course. Furthermore, for A2

candidates, their AS grades would

be a very strong indicator of their

A level grades. For example, a

candidate who got an A in a

particular subject in AS is most

likely to secure an A in A Level for

that subject," he said.

HEALTH

ENVIRONMENT

Why miscarriage is so painful


5

Jennie Agg

Istepped out of Oxford Circus tube into mid-morning

crowds and cold, bright sunshine. The consultant's words

were still ringing in my ears. "Nothing." How could the

answer be nothing? This was January 2018, six months

since my third miscarriage, a symptomless, rather

businesslike affair, diagnosed at an early scan. The

previous November, I'd undergone a series of

investigations into possible reasons why I'd lost this baby

and the two before it.

That morning, we had gone to discuss the results at the

specialist NHS clinic we'd been referred to after officially

joining the one in 100 couples who lose three or more

pregnancies. I had barely removed my coat before the

doctor started rattling off the things I had tested negative

for: antiphospholipid antibodies, lupus anticoagulant,

Factor V Leiden, prothrombin gene mutation.

"I know it doesn't feel like it, but this is good news," he

said, while the hopeful part of me crumpled. We were not

going to get a magic wand, a cure, a different-coloured pill

to try next time.

Now, my husband, Dan, was back at work and, for

reasons I can't really explain, I had decided to take myself

shopping rather than go home after the appointment. I

stood staring down the flat, grey frontages of Topshop and

NikeTown and willed my feet to unstick themselves from

the pavement.

I ended up wandering the beauty hall of one of London's

more famous department stores. I let myself be

persuaded to try a new facial, which uses "medical-grade

lasers" to evaporate pollution and dead skin cells from

pores to "rejuvenate" and "transform" your complexion.

Upstairs in the treatment room, the form I was handed

asked if I'd had any surgery in the past year. I wrote in

tight, cramped letters that six months ago I had an

operation to remove the remains of a pregnancy, under

general anaesthetic. When I handed the clipboard back to

the beautician, she didn't mention it. I wished that she

would.

As I lay back and felt the hot ping of the laser dotting

across my forehead, I thought how ridiculous this all was;

that this laser-facial is something humans have figured

out how to do. How has someone, somewhere, in a lab or

the boardroom of a cosmetics conglomerate, conceived of

this - a solution to a problem that barely exists - and yet

no one can tell me why I can't carry a baby?

There is no doctor who can reverse a miscarriage.

Generally, according to medical literature, once one

starts, it cannot be prevented. When I read these words

for the first time, three years ago, after Googling "bleeding

in early pregnancy", a few days before what should have

been our 12-week scan, I felt cheated. Cheated, because

when you're pregnant you are bombarded with

instructions that are supposed to prevent this very thing.

No soft cheese for you. No drinking, either. Don't smoke,

limit your caffeine intake, no cleaning out the cat's litter

tray. I had assumed, naively, that this meant we knew how

to prevent miscarriage these days, that we understood

why it happened and what caused it; that it could be

avoided if you followed the rules.

You learn very quickly that the truth is more

complicated. After a miscarriage, no medic asks you how

much coffee you drank or if you accidentally ate any

under-cooked meat. Instead you find that miscarriage is

judged to be largely unavoidable. An estimated one in five

pregnancies ends in miscarriage, with the majority

occurring before the 12-week mark. Seventy-one per cent

of people who lose a pregnancy aren't given a reason,

according to a 2019 survey by the baby charity Tommy's.

You are told - repeatedly - that it's "just bad luck", "just

one of those things", "just nature's way".

Just, just, just. A fatalistic shrug of a word. But this is not

the whole story. "There is this myth out there that every

miscarriage that occurs is because there's some profound

problem with the pregnancy, that there's nothing that can

be done," says ArriCoomarasamy, a professor of

gynaecology and reproductive medicine, and director of

the UK's National Centre for Miscarriage Research, which

was set up by Tommy's in 2016. "Science is trying to

unpick that myth."

Unfortunately, the roots of this myth run deep. It's an

idea reinforced by the social convention that you

shouldn't reveal a pregnancy until after 12 weeks, once the

highest risk of miscarriage has passed. It goes

unchallenged thanks to age-old squeamishness and

shame around women's bodies, and our collective

ineloquence on matters of grief. The bloody, untimely end

of a pregnancy sits at the centre of a perfect Venn diagram

of things that make us uncomfortable: sex, death and

periods.

An impression persists that, while unfortunate,

miscarriages are soon forgotten once another baby arrives

- that you'll get there eventually. It's true that the majority

The writer narrates her personal story of four miscarriages.

of people who have a miscarriage will go on to have a

successful pregnancy when they next conceive (about

80%, one study carried out in the 1980s found). Even

among couples who have had three miscarriages in a row,

for more than half, the next pregnancy will be successful.

Accordingly, the prevailing logic seems to be that not only

is miscarriage something that cannot be fixed - it doesn't

need to be fixed. There is little research or funding for

trials, and only glancing attention from the healthcare

system. What is not being heard, in all this, is that

miscarriage matters.

There is a magical feeling that comes on after a

miscarriage, I have found. A semi-delusional state that

lasts for days, sometimes weeks, afterwards. After each

one of mine (and there have been four now), I've caught

myself believing I am still pregnant, despite all evidence to

the contrary - the trips to A&E, the blood, the still

ultrasounds, the forms labelled "sensitive disposal of

pregnancy remains".

It starts in the mornings. For a moment, stuck

somewhere between sleeping and waking, I won't have

remembered, and, briefly, I'm still happy. Pregnant.

When the phone rings, for a split second I'll imagine it is

the hospital calling to tell me there has been a mistake. A

mix-up. They've got the results: I am, in fact, still

pregnant. Or my husband will say, casually, over dinner,

"Oh do you want to hear some good news?" and I'll think:

he's going to tell me I'm pregnant.

It is the shock, I remind myself, the trauma: it leads to

disbelief. Like feeling that the loved one who has died is

about to walk through the front door any minute and sit

in their favourite chair. This inability to accept reality

seems logical to me - inevitable, even - when there is no

explanation for what has happened. The brain wants to

solve problems, to make meaning.

There are very few specialist miscarriage clinics in the

UK. Some people end up being seen by a general

gynaecologist or sent to a fertility clinic. Generally,

doctors will only agree to look for a possible cause of

miscarriages once you have had three in a row. Even after

investigations, which in NHS centres tend to look for

structural problems with the womb and for blood-clotting

disorders, around half of people will never be given a

reason for their losses. There aren't even official

guidelines on preventing miscarriage - only on its

diagnosis and "management".

With no answers to your questions - why did it happen?

Will it happen again? - you are cut adrift in a sea of

Photo: Harriet Lee-Merrion

recommendations from women on Mumsnet, private

doctors, people offering fertility supplements, herbalists

and nutritionists, and from cult best-sellers that promise

to tell you how to improve the quality of your eggs. It's

been more than 40 years since embryologist Jean Purdy

watched as a single-cell embryo in a petri dish divided

into two, then four, then eight cells that would become the

world's first IVF baby. Humans have worked out how to

intervene in order to create life in a lab, but not how to

sustain it in the earliest weeks inside the body. The stage

between conception and an ongoing pregnancy, visible on

an ultrasound scan (at around six weeks) is sometimes

referred to as the "black box" of human development.

According to Prof Nick Macklon, medical director of the

London Women's Clinic and an expert in miscarriage and

early pregnancy, the reason there's been so little progress

is that we've been asking the wrong questions. "We use

the term 'recurrent miscarriage' as if it were a medical

diagnosis, yet there isn't one single medical cause," he

said. Some women may have a blood-clotting disorder;

for others, a contributing factor could be thyroid

dysfunction. Many women who miscarry appear not to

have an underlying health condition at all; instead, their

bodies seem to be less able to discern what is and isn't a

viable embryo. Yet studies of possible preventative

treatments tend to recruit their subjects as if all recurrent

miscarriages have the same cause.

This, in Macklon's view, is likely to explain why several

large, quality trials of possible treatments to reduce the

chance of miscarriage, such as heparin (a blood thinner)

and aspirin, as well as the hormone progesterone, have

failed to show any clear benefit, and have subsequently

been dismissed by the medical community. Some of these

treatments may in fact work for some women, but,

Macklon says, "because of the way the study is designed,

it comes out as not working overall".

A related problem lies in the mistaken assumption that

most (if not all) miscarriages happen because the

pregnancy was doomed to fail. In half of all miscarriages,

the embryo will have a serious chromosomal abnormality

that means it could never survive, but the other half are

believed to be healthy embryos. Prof Siobhan Quenby, a

consultant obstetrician at University Hospitals Coventry

and Warwickshire, heads up a specialist clinic into

recurrent miscarriage, one of four centres that form

Tommy's National Centre for Miscarriage Research. The

key question, she believes, is establishing whether

someone is repeatedly losing chromosomally normal or

abnormal pregnancies. "Everyone from their third

miscarriage onwards should have their miscarriage tissue

tested genetically," she said.

Yet access to genetic testing is patchy. Not all NHS

hospitals can do this kind of testing on site. If someone

miscarries at home, the onus is on them to collect a clean

sample of the tissue and take it to their hospital within 24

hours. This may not be something they can do - or even

know about.

Quenby is a celebrity in the world of recurrent

miscarriage patients. Her name often crops up in the

"miracle baby" stories that make the papers, with

headlines such as "Baby joy for couple who lost 13 babies

to miscarriages". Her particular area of interest is how the

lining of the womb behaves in early pregnancy - and how

it might contribute to miscarriage. She is one of the

authors of a study published in January 2020, which

found that a repurposed diabetes drug, sitagliptin, could

reduce the risk of miscarriage by boosting the number of

stem cells in the womb lining. These cells are responsible

for renewing the lining and reducing inflammation. "It's

still only a small pilot trial, but it is fantastically exciting,"

Quenby told me. "It's the first time in a long time that

there's been a potential new drug treatment."

Quenby is convinced it's not so much the treatment

options that are lacking, but the will to try them. "It's the

opposite of 'we can't do anything'," she said. "There are

tons of things we can try now." Still, as a miscarriage

patient, you run up against the dilemma that recurrent

miscarriage is not a diagnosis in itself, so the difficulty is

in establishing which treatment is most appropriate to

you. Even with the help of the most motivated of doctors,

there is going to be a degree of trial and error.

Many people will be told, as we were, that the best

treatment is no treatment - simply try again. This is what

we did, only to miscarry for a fourth time. We were under

the supervision of the recurrent-miscarriage clinic, yet

even after that fourth loss, the prescription remained the

same: just keep trying.

It took us a year before we felt ready to roll the dice

again. Shortly after I started researching this piece, in

November, I found out I was pregnant for the fifth time.

To be pregnant again after previous miscarriages is to

live at the fork of two alternative lives. You try to think as

little as possible about what's going on inside your body,

while, of course, thinking about it all the time. Alive or

dead? Baby or miscarriage? In every possible scenario,

you plan for the two outcomes. To a certain extent, you are

forced to buy into both possibilities simultaneously. You

cannot truly believe it will work out, but you have to

proceed as though you are pregnant anyway, until a scan

proves otherwise. Alive and dead. Schrödinger's foetus.

You treat yourself as your own walking research study:

a sample of one. Perhaps you take a different brand of

prenatal vitamin. Or you do different exercise. You do no

exercise at all. You drink less caffeine.

Can our body detoxicated?

Dara Mohammadi

Whether it's cucumbers splashing into water or

models sitting smugly next to a pile of

vegetables, it's tough not to be sucked in by the

detox industry. The idea that you can wash

away your calorific sins is the perfect antidote to

our fast-food lifestyles and alcohol-lubricated

social lives. But before you dust off that juicer or

take the first tentative steps towards a colonic

irrigation clinic, there's something you should

know: detoxing - the idea that you can flush

your system of impurities and leave your organs

squeaky clean and raring to go - is a scam. It's a

pseudo-medical concept designed to sell you

things.

"Let's be clear," says Edzard Ernst, emeritus

professor of complementary medicine at Exeter

University, "there are two types of detox: one is

respectable and the other isn't." The respectable

one, he says, is the medical treatment of people

with life-threatening drug addictions. "The

other is the word being hijacked by

entrepreneurs, quacks and charlatans to sell a

bogus treatment that allegedly detoxifies your

body of toxins you're supposed to have

accumulated."

If toxins did build up in a way your body

couldn't excrete, he says, you'd likely be dead or

in need of serious medical intervention. "The

healthy body has kidneys, a liver, skin, even

lungs that are detoxifying as we speak," he says.

"There is no known way - certainly not through

detox treatments - to make something that

works perfectly well in a healthy body work

better."

Much of the sales patter revolves around

"toxins": poisonous substances that you ingest

or inhale. But it's not clear exactly what these

toxins are. If they were named they could be

measured before and after treatment to test

effectiveness. Yet, much like floaters in your

eye, try to focus on these toxins and they

scamper from view. In 2009, a network of

scientists assembled by the UK charity Sense

about Science contacted the manufacturers of

15 products sold in pharmacies and

supermarkets that claimed to detoxify. The

products ranged from dietary supplements to

smoothies and shampoos. When the scientists

asked for evidence behind the claims, not one of

the manufacturers could define what they

meant by detoxification, let alone name the

toxins.

Yet, inexplicably, the shelves of health food

stores are still packed with products bearing the

word "detox" - it's the marketing equivalent of

drawing go-faster stripes on your car. You can

buy detoxifying tablets, tinctures, tea bags, face

masks, bath salts, hair brushes, shampoos,

body gels and even hair straighteners. Yoga,

luxury retreats, and massages will also all

erroneously promise to detoxify. You can go on

a seven-day detox diet and you'll probably lose

weight, but that's nothing to do with toxins, it's

because you would have starved yourself for a

Spinach and broccoli smoothie.

Photo: Frederic J. Brown

week. Then there's colonic irrigation. Its

proponents will tell you that mischievous

plaques of impacted poo can lurk in your colon

for months or years and pump disease-causing

toxins back into your system. Pay them a small

fee, though, and they'll insert a hose up your

bottom and wash them all away. Unfortunately

for them - and possibly fortunately for you - no

doctor has ever seen one of these mythical

plaques, and many warn against having the

procedure done, saying that it can perforate

your bowel.

Other tactics are more insidious. Some

colon-cleansing tablets contain a

polymerising agent that turns your faeces

into something like a plastic, so that when a

massive rubbery poo snake slithers into your

toilet you can stare back at it and feel

vindicated in your purchase. Detoxing foot

pads turn brown overnight with what

manufacturers claim is toxic sludge drawn

from your body. This sludge is nothing of the

sort - a substance in the pads turns brown

when it mixes with water from your sweat.

"It's a scandal," fumes Ernst. "It's criminal

exploitation of the gullible man on the street

and it sort of keys into something that we all

would love to have - a simple remedy that

frees us of our sins, so to speak. It's nice to

think that it could exist but unfortunately it

doesn't."

That the concept of detoxification is so

nebulous might be why it has evaded public

suspicion. When most of us utter the word

detox, it's usually when we're bleary eyed and

stumbling out of the wrong end of a heavy

weekend. In this case, surely, a detox from

alcohol is a good thing? "It's definitely good to

have non-alcohol days as part of your lifestyle,"

says Catherine Collins, an NHS dietitian at St

George's Hospital. "It'll probably give you a

chance to reassess your drinking habits if you're

drinking too much. But the idea that your liver

somehow needs to be 'cleansed' is ridiculous."

The liver breaks down alcohol in a two-step

process. Enzymes in the liver first convert

alcohol to acetaldehyde, a very toxic substance

that damages liver cells. It is then almost

immediately converted into carbon dioxide and

water which the body gets rid of. Drinking too

much can overwhelm these enzymes and the

acetaldehyde buildup will lead to liver damage.

Moderate and occasional drinking, though,

might have a protective effect.

Juggling balls is good for the brain.

Circus exercises to

try at home

Glen Stewart

Photo: Getty

Once you feel strong in a push-up position, use the sofa or a chair to raise your feet

higher than floor level. This will increase the load on your arms and shoulders, and will

start you on your journey towards doing a handstand. Eventually, try to put your feet

on a wall. Can you perform the mountain climber action of bringing each knee towards

your chest while in this inverted position?

This is fun, addictive and excellent exercise for the brain. You don't have to start with

three balls: any throwing and catching challenges will have a positive effect on balance,

posture and concentration.

Use a broom stick, vacuum cleaner pipe or something similar, at least a metre long.

Stand the stick in the centre of your hand (palm up). Stare at the top of the stick and

make movements or adjustments to your hand position as needed to balance the stick.

If this is easy, try balancing it on your forearm, shoulder, forehead or foot.

SPORTS

Tamim who replaced Mashrafe as the captain of Bangladesh's one-day team has yet not got the

chance to lead the side due to the outbreak of coronavirus.

Photo: BCB

Mashrafe advises

Tamim to trust

'gut feeling' to be

successful captain

SpORTS DeSk:

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza

believes new ODI captain

Tamim Iqbal has the all

ingredients to be a

successful leader for

Bangladesh but he would

have to trust his 'gut feeling'

in the time of difficulties,

reports BSS.

Tamim who replaced

Mashrafe as the captain of

Bangladesh's one-day team

has yet not got the chance to

lead the side due to the

outbreak of coronavirus.

Mashrafe's 'gut feeling' is

one of the reasons what

made him the most

successful captain for

Bangladesh. The former

skipper however thinks if

Tamim could follow his

heart, it won't be difficult

that he would better his own

record of 50 wins in

International cricket.

"It is not unexpected that

you will hear a lot of advice

like 'do this', 'do that', 'bring

this bowler' but you have to

listen your heart," Mashrafe

said Tamim during a

conversation on Facebook

on Monday night.

"If you loss by listening

your heart, you would be

able to sleep well at night but

if you do what other people

asked you to do, you will be

unable to get any peace. So

down the line, you have to

trust your gut feeling."

During the conversation,

Tamim informed in several

times in the crucial moment

of a game, he told Mashrafe

to bring a fast bowler rather

than an off-spinner but

Mashrafe defied his advice

and bring off-spinner which

eventually gave him the

success.

Tamim said, he always

was surprised how

Mashrafe's trick worked well

when an off-spinner had the

chance to get beaten.

As Tamim asked how it

worked well, Mashrafe said

it's simply the 'gut feeling'

that he followed.

Mushfiqur extends

helping hands to 30

net bowlers

SpORTS DeSk:

Mushfiqur Rahim now

came up to help the 30 net

bowlers who have been in

troublesome condition after

all kind of cricketing

activities in the country was

suspended due to the

outbreak of Covid-19, reports

BSS.

At a time when he was busy

to put his double century bat

up for auction in an online

platform to raise fund for the

coronavirus affected people,

the decision to mitigate the

plight of the net bowlers

came.

"Sometimes ago,

Mushfiqur Rahim asked me

the wellbeing of the net

bowlers and their

whereabouts. After I gave

him the information, he told

me to prepare a list of all of

them as he wants to give

them some financial help,"

said Rakibul Hasan, who is in

charge of the net bowlers.


6

Evra reveals death threats

after Suarez racism row

SpORTS DeSk:

Former Manchester United defender

patrice evra has said he received death

threats following a racism row involving

then-Liverpool forward Luis Suarez in 2011,

reports BSS.

Uruguay striker Suarez was banned for

eight matches by the english Football

Association after being found guilty of

misconduct for insulting comments to evra,

which included a reference to the left-back's

skin colour, at Anfield in October that year.

Liverpool, however, mounted a prolonged

and public defence of Suarez's conduct as the

row between the rival clubs escalated.

evra said one consequence of the backlash

included letters threatening the Frenchman

and his family.

"Manchester United received so many

threatening letters about me," evra told the

club's UTD podcast.

"people said: 'We're in jail, we're Liverpool

fans. When we get out, we're going to kill you

and your family'."

evra said the nature of the threats meant

he had to be protected by bodyguards.

"For two months, I had security

everywhere I went. They were sleeping in

front of my house. everywhere I went, the

security followed me.

"It was a tough time, but I wasn't scared.

My family were scared: my wife and brother,

but I wasn't.

"I couldn't understand why people hated

me so much. They didn't know the truth."

evra, who saw his attempt to shake hands

with Suarez before a match the following

February rebuffed by the striker, said he had

forgiven his old antagonist and even spoke to

the now Barcelona star before the 2015

Champions League final when playing for

Juventus.

But it was a very different story at the time

, which saw evra forcing himself to control

his emotions after reporting the incident to

match referee Andre Marriner, who said it

would be dealt with after the game and that

both players should continue.

"I remember, during that game, I was

talking to myself saying: 'If you punch him

now, people will see you as the bad one,

people will forget about what he said',"

recalled evra.

"I was talking to myself: 'Don't do… do it…'

I wasn't focused for the game."

Former Manchester United defender Patrice Evra has said he received death threats following a

racism row involving then-Liverpool forward Luis Suarez in 2011.

Photo: AP

Nadal: 'I see 2020

as practically lost'

for tennis

Sports Desk: Rafael

Nadal has said he views the

rest of this year as "practically

lost" for tennis and would

even be relieved if the sport

returned as normal at the

start of 2021, reports BSS.

The men's and women's

tours have been stopped due

to the coronavirus

pandemic, with Wimbledon

cancelled for the first time

since World War II and the

French Open postponed

until the end of September.

But Nadal, who has won

12 of his 19 grand slam titles

at Roland Garros, believes

the chances of tennis

restarting before the end of

this year are slim.

GD-702/20 (10x3)

GD-698/20 (5x 2)

GD-700/20 (10 x 3)

MISCELLANEOUS

WeDneSDAy, MAy 6, 2020

7

VGF rice distributed

among fishermen in

Gournadi

GiaS Uddin mia, GoUrnadi

CorreSpondent:

VGF rice was distributed

among the fishermen on

tuesday morning in

Gournadi of Barishal due to

ban of catching mother

hilsa.

in Barthi Union of the

upazila, 80 kg of VGF rice

was distributed among 80

fishermen in the second

installment at the rate of 40

kg per fisherman for the

month of april and may.

during the time, Upazila

Fisheries officer Syed

nazrul islam, Barthi Union

parishad Chairman md.

Shahjahan pada, tag

officer and rdo tuhin

hossain, Up Secretary

abhinash Barai Sourav,

Upazila Field assistant

Bikash Kumar nag, office

assistant md. nur alam

and other officials were also

present at the occasion.

Two held with yaba worth

Tk 7.5 crore in Moheshkhali

Sarwar Kamal, moheShKhali CorreSpondent:

moheshkhali police have seized 150,000

pieces of yaba, the highest amount in the

history of moheshkhali, valued at around tk

7.5 crore, along with two drug traders and a

covered van.

within minutes of receiving the yaba

consignment, a team of police led by

moheshkhali police Station officer-in-Charge

prabhas Chandra dhar arrested two locals

and a covered van with a large quantity of yaba

at lambaghona Bazar. in a press briefing,

moheshkhali police Station officer-in-Charge

prabhas Chandra dhar said that the yaba

traders took position at the house of a member

of the 6.no ward of Chhota moheshkhali last

night. later in the morning, while

transporting yaba, we arrested two traders

including yaba from a place called

lambaghona.

the amount of yaba is about 1.5 lakh

pieces. during the preliminary

interrogation of the arrested yaba traders,

they admitted that they were already

shipping 30,000 pieces of yaba. meanwhile,

special operations are underway to bring all

those involved in the yaba trade under the

law. meanwhile, after the arrest of Yaba,

osman Gani member went into hiding.

Jubo Oikya Parishad

distributes food items

in Moulvibazar

SYed SaYed ahmed, SreemanGal CorreSpondent:

Food items have been distributed

among jobless poor families in

mozefrabad 2no munmukh Union area

of moulvibazar Sadar Upazila.

the food items were distributed on

monday at the initiative of the

moulvibazar branch of the Jubo oikya

parishad (hindu-Buddhist-Christian)

and with the financial support of former

Chhatra league leader radha dhar, a

UK expatriate. ajay Sen, district

president of the organization and

organizing secretary of the district

awami league, was the chief guest at the

food distribution function. among

others, arjan dutta, Convener of Sadar

Upazila of Jubo oikya parishad and raj

Sarkar, General Secretary of

moulvibazar municipal Branch of puja

Udjapan parishad were also present on

the occasion.

the food items were distributed

among 60 families including rice and

pulses.

S M Tarikul Islam honorable District Commissioner, Gazipur, Anisur Rahman, Mayor, Sreepur

Municipality, Gazipur have given their kind consent to be present at the aid handover program.

BCCCI hon'ble Joint Secretary General Al Mamun Mridha & Syed Aminul Kabir, Director, BCCCI

were also present on the said program of behalf of BCCCI.

Photo: Courtesy

GD-699/20 (6 x 4)

GD-696/20 (7 x 4)

GD-695/20 (7 x 4)

GD-693/20 (10x 4)

WEDNESDAy, DhAKA, MAy 6, 2020, BAIShAKh 23, 1427 BS, RAMADAN 12, 1441 hIjRI

Pineapple businessmen fall in awkward in the ongoing corona crisis. The fruit is available is market

but the market is buyerless.

Photo : Star Mail

Ramp up testing further, advises

Corona Technical Committee

DHAKA : The national technical advisory

committee to check COVID-19 has suggested

testing for the infection be increased further,

alongside faster and more efficient delivery of

the test reports, reports UNB.

“The technical committee has suggested

increasing the number of coronavirus tests

and reducing the time of reporting,” said

Health Minister Zahid Maleque, who briefed

reporters after the latest meeting on Tuesday

of the 17-member committee at the Health

Ministry.

Mentioning that the government has over

the last one month increased the number of

daily tests to around the 6,000 a day, facilitated

by the designation of 33 laboratories across

the country, health minister said the government

was still receptive to the suggestion.

“We’ve accepted it and will take stronger

measures in this regard (to implement the

suggestion of the committee).”

About loosening lockdown, the technical

committee will place its considered opinions

over withdrawal of lockdown. “Receiving

their opinions, we’ll put these forward to the

proper authorities,” Maleque added.

“They will provide their recommendations

regarding lockdown soon,” he said.

Noting that it can be presumed that the

infection rate will go up to some extent with

the opening of garments factories, shops and

markets, the health minister said: “We’ll have

to keep it under control as much as possible.

Our word is both life and livelihood will go

together.”

“The Health Ministry will keep trying so

that the number of patients does not go exponentially

high. Our mandate is to ensure

proper treatment for patients and keep them

properly as well as provide suggestions so that

infection rate will not increase,” he went on.

The committee will also give a clear opinion

on how to observe the actual holiday that people

look forward to all year-round, during the

upcoming Eid-ul Fitr vacation, according to

the Health Minister.

The other notable suggestion of the committee

from today’s meeting was to ask the

government to pay attention to the disproportionately

large number of doctors/physicians

contracted coronavirus.

In this context, they suggested that the

physicians and other health workers should

be more careful over infection during the

times of wearing and taking off personal protective

equipment (PPE), said Zahid

Maleque.

The committee said no patients should go

back from hospitals without receiving treatment,

he said, adding that though the government

issued directives in this regard two

months ago, now it will put more importance

on the issue.

The technical committee also suggested the

government enhancing the number of 4th

class employees in different hospitals, said the

minister adding that the Prime Minister has

already on Monday issued directives to them

for recruiting more employees there.

In the meeting, the committee recommended

resolving the problems of physicians,

nurses and other health workers and encouraging

them further, he said.

They have asked for communications interconnectivity

among all COVID-19 hospitals

for the sake of better management, quick

solution to any problem and receiving information

on latest situation, he said.

On April 19 last, the government formed the

national technical advisory committee to

tackle the outbreak of novel coronavirus in

the country.

90 pc haor paddy harvested: Minister

DHAKA : Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur

Razzaque on Tuesday said farmers have harvested

90 percent of Boro paddy in haor

areas and 25 percent across the country,

reports UNB.

“The rest 10 percent Boro paddy in haor

areas will be harvested within a week.

Besides, the harvesting of paddy in the haor

areas is being delayed due to the cultivation

of BRRI-29 variety paddy,” he said while

exchanging views with reporters online over

the progress of the harvesting paddy across

the country.

He hoped that the Boro paddy will be harvested

within the month of June.

Some 4,45,399 hectares of land in the haor

areas (Kishoreganj, Netrakona, Sunamganj,

Moulvibazar, Habiganj, Sylhet,

Brahmanbaria) have been brought under

boro cultivation and of those, paddy from

90.02 percent of the land was harvested

until Monday, he said.

Meanwhile, 47, 54,447 hectares of land

have been brought under boro cultivation

across the country and the farmers have

already harvested paddy from 11,88,611

hectares or 25 percent of the total cultivation,

he added.

He also said some 350,500 workers are

working in the haor areas for harvesting

paddy and 38,000 workers from four

regions were sent there.

The minister said harvesting paddy in a

short time has been possible thanks to the

participation of political leadership, government

officials, public representatives, political

party activists and volunteers.

During the meeting, Razzaque said the

government has taken steps so that the

farmers get fair prices of paddy.

In addition to that, the government has

decided to procure 800,000 metric tonnes

of paddy, 11.5 MT rice (boiled and nonboiled),

75,000 MT wheat for ensuring fair

price for farmers and food security among

the low-income people during coronavirus,

said Razzaque.

The Minister said the government has set

a target to produce 34,44,800 MT Aush

paddy this season and has already distributed

seeds and fertilisers among 3,83,434

farmers.

Secretary of Agriculture Ministry Md

Nasiruzzaman, Additional Secretary

(administration) Arifur Rahman,

Additional Secretary (Research)

Kamlaranjan Das and Additional Secretary

(Expansion) Mohammad Hasanuzzaman

Kollol, among others, were present at the

meeting.

BB wants to

release Tk

25,000 cr

new notes

before Eid

DHAKA : Bangladesh Bank

aims to release new currency

notes of Tk 25,000 crore

in the market before the Eid,

reports UNB.

Official sources said the

money would be released

about a week before the Eidul-Fitr.

“We’ve set a target to

release Tk 25,000 crore before

Eid,” Sirajul Islam,

Bangladesh Bank

spokesman and executive

director, told UNB.

He said the initial target is

to release Tk 22,000 crore.

Last year, the central bank

released Tk 18,000 crore.

Some officials at the central

bank said the decision to

release new cash in the market

is part of its move to

withdraw old notes and replace

them with new ones to

prevent the spread of coronavirus.

They cited the example

of China which withdrew

about 60,000 crore Yuan

and replaced them with new

ones after the coronavirus

outbreak.

Sirajul, however, rejected

the idea, saying: “No such

decision was taken. The release

of new notes is unrelated

to the withdrawal of

old notes.”

‘Utmost importance’

attached to safety

measures for

expatriates: Minister

DHAKA : Expatriate’s Welfare and

Overseas Employment Minister

Imran Ahmed on Tuesday said the

government has taken necessary

steps for ensuring the safety of the

Bangladeshi workers living abroad

“with utmost importance”.

“The officials of Bangladesh

Embassies in different countries

are contacting the workers

round the clock. Discussions

with the ministers of different

countries are underway over

hiring from international

labour markets (i.e.

Shariatpur, Munshiganj and

other districts of BD) amid the

ongoing coronavirus situation,”

he said, reports UNB.

The Minister came up with

the information while talking

to reporters after attending a

programme over a new secretary

to the ministry, as a chief

guest.

He also said “In order to

ensure the protection issue of

the expatriates, we must implement

the directives of the

Prime Minister with honesty,

efficiency and dedication.”

Educational

institutions to

remain shut

until May 30

DHAKA : All educational

institutions

in

Bangladesh will remain

shut until May 30.

Mahbubur Rahman, secretary

of Secondary and

Higher Secondary

Education division, confirmed

the matter on

Tuesday, reports UNB.

“Shortly, an order will

be issued in this

regard,” he said.

Director General of

Secondary and Higher

Secondary Education

Directorate has been

asked to issue the holiday

promptly, he said.

DG Syed Golam Faruq

of Secondary and Higher

Secondary Education

Directorate said, “We are

trying to issue the order

as soon as possible.”

Earlier on March 16,

the government closed

all the educational

institutes aiming to

prevent the spread of

coronavirus. No classes

have been held since

that day.

Meanwhile, the country

detected 786 more

COVID-19 infected people

which is the highest

number in a single-day

on Tuesday, raising the

total cases to 10,929

while the death toll

climbed to 183 in the

country with another

person’s death in last

24 hours.

Shutdown needs to be lifted

cautiously in phases: ADB

Country Director

DHAKA : Country Director of the Asian

Development Bank (ADB) in Bangladesh

Manmohan Parkash has said a carefullycrafted

exit strategy that draws a fine balance

between normalising socioeconomic

activities and containing the spread of virus

is needed for Bangladesh, reports UNB.

“There’s a growing debate among the policymakers,

if easing of the restrictions is

necessary now to help restart the economic

activity. Given the potential severity of the

pandemic and it’s unclear and unknown

impact, a carefully-crafted exit strategy that

draws a fine balance between normalising

socioeconomic activities and containing

the spread of virus is needed,” he said in an

interview with UNB.

Manmohan Parkash said both healthrelated

and non-health related actions

together are needed to control the spread of

the disease and open up the economy.

He mentioned that health-related actions

would include ramping up healthcare procedures,

systems and supplies while nonhealth

actions would include easing up of

supply chains and logistics, particularly for

the movement of much-needed essential

goods and services, restoration of livelihood,

manufacturing activities and managing

large number of migrant workers coming

from rural areas to work in Dhaka.

Replying a question how should the

COVID-19-induced current shutdown be

lifted, the ADB country director said the

shutdown needs to be lifted cautiously in a

pragmatic manner to allow economic activities

while maintaining the basic health

instructions for managing COVID-19 outbreak

and sustaining the progresses

achieved so far.

He said the ongoing shutdown is seriously

affecting economic activities, including

employment and livelihood opportunities.

“The poor and the vulnerable are the

hardest hit by the shutdown, which is

essential to save people from infection and

to control the spread of the disease. There’s

no certainty on the behaviour of the epidemiological

curve and hence it is nearly

impossible to predict the ideal time frame

to ease the lockdown.”

Easing of restrictions cannot be sudden

and complete. An environment needs to be

created where people will feel reassured to

go back to work without fear of getting

infected, Manmohan said.

“Strict enforcement of rules and regulations

is a key. Good law and order will help

ensure social distancing. Cooperation from

people is key to lift the shutdown step by

step, adopting a slow but steady process.”

Manmohan said the factories that

reopening must have a health and safety

plan. They should educate the workers also

about the best practices that they should

follow at the workplace. Crowded factories

may consider initiating multiple shifts to

avoid accommodating too many workers in

one room.

He mentioned that the factory authorities

should distribute adequate simple protective

gears such as masks among the workers

and carry out awareness programmes

for the employees.

“Public transportation system like buses

may be allowed with proper spacing of passengers,

for example with less than 30 percent

occupancy.”

Demanding immediate release of imprisoned journalist Shafiqul Islam Kajal, a human chain program was

held in front of National Press Club yesterday.

Photo : TBT

Shops, shopping malls can

operate 10am-4pm:Ministry

DHAKA : Businessmen will be

allowed to keep shops and shopping

malls open for six hours from 10am

to 4pm every day from May 10, after

maintaining health guidelines during

the general holidays.

The Commerce Ministry issued a

statement on Tuesday in this regard

considering the month of Ramadan

and the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr, the

biggest festival of Muslims, reports

UNB.

But businesses will have to follow

some rules and regulations. The

ministry has asked the Federation of

Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce

and Industries (FBCCI), all commercial

organisations and

Bangladesh Shop Owners’

Association to take proper measures

over the matter.

The conditions are- maintaining

social distance, cleaning hands with

sanitiser while entering malls,

shops, follow guideline of health and

family welfare ministry and regularly

disinfecting of all transports that

would enter the commercial area.

Cabinet Division on Monday

decided to allow shops and malls to

operate on a limited scale from 10am

to 4pm from May 10.

The general holidays was declared

by the government from March 26

which was later extended in phrases

to prevent the transmission of coronavirus.

Lastly, on Monday the holiday

was extended until May 16.

Meanwhile, the country detected

786 more COVID-19 patients on

Tuesday raising the total cases to

10,929 while the death toll climbed

to 183 with another person’s death

in the last 24 hours.

Won’t tolerate

corruption in MPO

registration : ACC

DHAKA : Anti-Corruption Commission

(ACC) Chairman Iqbal Mahmood on

Tuesday said the commission will not

allow corruption, bribery or harassment in

the process of Monthly Pay Order (MPO)

registration of educational institutions,

reports UNB.

He sent out the message to the officials of

the ACC’s Intelligence Division, integrated

district offices, divisional offices and said:

“Under no circumstances should an incompetent

teacher be enrolled under MPO

scheme by paying bribe.” The message also

said the ACC will closely monitor the MPO

registration process.

Earlier, the Intelligence Division

informed the ACC that several teachers

and employees involved in the new MPO

registration are anonymously complaining

about dishonest officials and employees of

some Upazila Education Offices, District

Education Offices and Regional Education

Offices demanding money in the name of

paper examination.

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam, Executive Editor : Sheikh Efaz Ahmed, Managing, Editor: Tapash Ray Sarker, News Editor : Saiful Islam, printed at Sonali Printing Press, 2/1/A, Arambagh 167, Inner Circular Road, Eden Complex, Motijheel, Dhaka.

Editorial and News Office: Bangladesh Timber Building (3rd Floor) 270/B, Tejgaon I/A Dhaka-1208. Tel : +8802-8878026, Cell : 01736786915; Fax: + 880244611604, Email: Editor : editor@thebangladeshtoday.com, Advertisement: ads@thebangladeshtoday.com, News: newsbangla@thebangladeshtoday.com, contact@thebangladeshtoday.com, website: www.thebangladeshtoday.com

06-05-2020

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