Govt spent Tk 15,000-47,000 for each Covid-19 patient at hospitals: health minister

The government has spent an average of Tk15,000 for regular Covid-19 patients and Tk 47,000 for Covid-19 patients in ICU beds, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said today.

"The treatment in government hospitals has been made free for all in parallel to charging nominal fees for tests," the minister said while addressing a meeting on "Shasthyo Surokhsha Karmasuchi (SSK)" in the ministry.

In his speech, he also claimed that the government is completely ready to tackle the "second wave" of the corona outbreak.

"Efforts have been continued…The dedicated hospitals will be kept and function as usual," the minister said.

He said, "The government has been providing the highest service to the people during this corona [outbreak]… As a result, mass people of the country have benefitted."

He also informed that there was no crisis of personal protective equipment (PPE).

Mentioning the recent government announcement -- "no mask, no service" -- he said, "There will be a massive campaign soon to increase health awareness to tackle corona."

Secretary of the health services division Abdul Mannan, director general of the health directorate Prof ABM Khurshid Alam, and other high ups of the ministry were present in the meeting among others.