Bangladesh installs testing booths as COVID-19 toll rises to 46

Bangladesh has started setting up COVID-19 sample collection booths as the deadly infection claimed seven more lives and infected 209 people overnight.

Bangladesh has so far reported 1,012 cases of coronavirus and 46 deaths due to the deadly infection.

The Directorate General of Health Service said the coronavirus pandemic has prompted them to introduce the testing facilities at neighbourhoods of the national capital Dhaka and other hot-spots just like South Korea's booth or kiosk model to intensify combat against the deadly virus.

The Initiative has been in collaboration with an NGO called JKG.

The government is introducing boot or kiosks to collect samples for COVID-19 testing across the country involving initially an NGO, the state-run BSS quoted DGHS chief Prof Dr Abul Kalam Azad as saying.

"We are welcoming NGOs involvement and urging private sector to extend their hands to supplement the government efforts to prevent COVID-19 in view of the rapid growth of cases, Azad said.

A Spokesperson of JKG said the booths look like glass cabin and the medical staff or healthcare professionals in it are equipped with protective gears.

"The medical staff under the sanitized booths will collect throat swabs of people who will stand or sit outside, the spokesperson said.

Government authorities have also urged other non-government organisations to reach out for sample collection facilities at neighbourhood levels in the capital Dhaka and other COVID-19 hot-spots, including southeastern Cox's Bazar where over a million Rohingyas were locked down in their crammed makeshift camps.

The deadly virus claimed the lives of seven people and affected 209 people overnight.

Globally, the coronavirus pandemic has killed 119,666 people and infected almost two million people, according to Johns Hopkins University data.