Covid-19 hospitalization rate drops 24% in two weeks
People recovering faster from Omicron variant, experts say.
The number of hospitalizations from Covid-19 in the country dropped by 24% in the first two weeks of February, while the infection rate has also been on the decline recently.
Experts and health officials said people have been recovering faster from the Omicron variant than previous iterations of the coronavirus, and it also has less of an impact on the health of patients. As a result, patients are swiftly leaving hospitals and completing their recovery at home.
DGHS spokesperson Line Director Dr Robed Amin told Dhaka Tribune that Omicron had gradually displaced Delta as the dominant variant in the country. Hospital admissions had been increasing from the last week of January, but they began decreasing from the second week of February.
Most beds remain vacant
According to the DGHS, the number of patients admitted to hospitals for Covid-19 had decreased by 24% on Sunday as compared to February 1. More than 85% of hospital beds were available in the country.
On February 1, a total of 3,123 patients were being treated at Covid-19 general wards, Intensive Care Units (ICUs), and High Dependency Units (HDUs) across the country. Although the rate of Covid-19 infection was increasing at the beginning of the month, the number of hospitalizations had dropped to 2,859 on February 7, and to 2,394 on Sunday.
A total of 81% of general beds at hospitals were vacant at the beginning of the month, as compared to 83% on February 7 and almost 86% on Sunday. The number of vacant beds at HDUs across the country also increased to 81.29% on Sunday from 75% on February 1.
The number of patients in ICUs also dropped over the past week, as 77% of ICUs were vacant on Sunday, as compared to 72% on February 7, and 74% on February 1.
The daily infection rate was 33.37% on January 28, the highest in the country since the arrival of Omicron.
Pressure of patients dropping in Dhaka as well
There are 32 public and private Covid-19 hospitals in Dhaka. They include 4,736 general beds, 778 ICU beds, and 520 HDU beds.
About 20% of beds in Dhaka Division were occupied as of Sunday, as compared to 26% on February 1.
