Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) hospital with a 1000-bed capacity was inaugurated today (18 April 2021) as COVID-19 dedicated one with all the necessary facilities to treat coronavirus patients adding further improvement in the health sector to fight the deadly virus.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque formally opened the DNCC hospital at a function while DNCC Mayor Atiqul Islam attended it as special guest, an official release said.
Secretary of Health Service Division Lokman Hossain Mian, Director General of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Prof Dr Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam and director of the DNCC hospital Brig Gen AKM Nasir Uddin, among others, were present at the function.
Maleque said, “Like other countries of the world, Bangladesh is facing a second wave of coronavirus… almost all hospitals in the country are filled with COVID-19 patients as both infections and fatalities caused by the virus are gradually increasing.”
It is urgent to extend healthcare facilities to treat COVID-19 patients, he said, adding the government has prepared the DNCC market as a dedicated COVID-19 hospital within a short time, installing all modern equipment to protect lives of coronavirus positive patients.
The health minister said 212 ICU beds, PCR-lab, radiotherapy centre and X-ray facility have been installed at the DNCC hospital to make it a full-fledged hospital dedicated for COVID-19 patients.
Referring to increasing dedicated COVID-19 beds and central oxygen system at hospitals, he said at present, the government has extended central oxygen facility at 100 hospitals in the country and the process for installing central oxygen systems at 34 more hospitals is underway. As a result, nearly 12,000 beds are equipped with central oxygen facility to provide key health service for coronavirus patients, Maleque added.