COVID-19: 10 armed forces members died, 1,020 infected

A total of 10 members of Armed Forces have been died of novel coronavirus in Bangladesh until Saturday, according to a media release of Inter Service Public Relation (ISPR) Directorate.

Moreover, as many as 1,364 members of the forces both in-service and retired, their families, and civilians and others, who are employed in various organisations under the Armed Forces, have been infected with COVID-19 since the case was first reported in Bangladesh on March 8.

Of them, 1,020 are members of Armed Forces both in service and retired, 92 members of their families and rest 152 are civilians and others, who are employed in various organisations under the Armed Forces, have been admitted to the combined military hospitals.

Among them, 421 infected patients have fully recovered, and other 933 patients admitted in various Combined Medical Hospitals (CMHs) are healthy, the press release added. 

Among those who died, eight are retired and aged over 60 years and two are serving army members. All of them were suffering from various complications.

There are 13 RT-PCR machines at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) and CMHs of other cantonments for the coronavirus testing of members of the Armed Forces both in-service and retired, their families. Besides, adequate number of PPEs, masks, gloves and necessary medicine are in stock, according to the press release.

A total of 7,410 samples have been tested in PCR labs of 4,375 members of the Armed Force, 774 families and 2,261 civilians and others till Saturday.

Full-time trained physicians of the Army have been ensuring treatment of COVID-19 patients maintaining all health guidelines, the ISPR media release confirmeed.

Kamruzzaman