|
Media Synthesis Report |
on
Fake COVID-19 certificates and fraudulence
in COVID Treatment
FINDINGS
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a)
A gang |
Fake
COVID-19 certificates sold at Tk 4-7 thousand
A ring was operating
within and outside of the capital’s Mugda General Hospital to collect COVID-19
certificates and later forged those for selling to people. The Rapid Action
Battalion has recently busted a ring, recovered nearly one hundred fake
certificates and held four members of the ring in this connection. Police has
been investigating the case and found that the ring was using long queues of
COVID-19 test seekers as an opportunity to lure some of them to buy counterfeit
COVID-19 certificates. RAB personnel detained the four people on June 15 from a
photocopying shop in Mugda on charge of printing fake COVID-19 negative and
positive certificates.
https://www.newagebd.net/article/108973/fake-covid-19-certificates-sold-at-tk-4-7-thousand
Fake Covid Reports: Cops track
down dozen syndicates
Some hospital staffers involved in
it; each report sold for Tk 5,000-9,000
While the coronavirus itself
is a cause for grave concern in the country, some people are out there making
business by putting others at further risk of infection by selling fake
Covid-19 certificates. Law enforcers claimed to have detected around a dozen
syndicates, who are selling fake certificates during the pandemic. They provide
a printed "Covid-19 negative/positive" certificate or an E-mail as
per desire, for Tk 5,000 to Tk 9,000. In cooperation with some hospital
staffers, these syndicates mainly target those in need of a Covid-19 negative
certificate to go abroad, said officials of police and Rab. They have medical
staffers, graphic designers and IT experts involved in their gangs. For the
certificates, they mainly use DGHS or IEDCR pads.
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b)
Regent Hospital |
Fake
Covid-19 certificates: DGHS directs Regent Group to shut down its hospital
branches in Mirpur, Uttara
The Directorate General
of Health Services (DGHS) has directed the authority of Regent Hospital to
close the Uttara and Mirpur branches of
its hospital immediately."We have asked them to close the hospitals
immediately," Aminul Hasan, director (hospital) of DGHS said,
adding that, "Patients of those hospital would be shifted to the hospital
in Bashudhara. If necessary, patients will be shifted to Kuwait Bangladesh
Friendship Hospital." The move comes after the head office of Regent
Group and its hospital in Dhaka's Uttara were sealed off on
charges of issuing fake Covid-19 test certificates and collecting money from
Covid-19 patients.
Seven
Regent Hospital employees remanded in a case filed over fake COVID-19
certificates
A Dhaka court on
Wednesday placed seven Regent Hospital employees on a five-day remand in a case
filed over their alleged involvement in issuing fake COVID-19 test
certificates.
DGHS
claims health ministry high-ups directed it to sign Regent Hospital MoU
Directorate General of
Health Services (DGHS) has claimed that it took initiative to sign a memorandum
of understanding (MoU) with Regent Hospital as per directives from the top
authorities of the health ministry. DGHS came up with the claim on Saturday in
a press statement. The statement was made to clarify DGHS’ stand about the
fraudulence of Regent Hospital owner Md Shahed and JKG Group.
সাহেদের ভঙ্গুর রিজেন্ট হাসপাতাল ছিল
অধিদপ্তরের ভরসা
As per announcement on Md. Shahed's Facebook, a female join at
Mirpur branch but she escaped after a month and a half. She had
to work the rest of the day except sleeping. She was the only physician in this
hospital. Necessary medical supplies were also not there. But the Department of
Health found confidence in this fragile hospital. According to agreement
between Regent and Health Department termed this as a state-of-the-art
hospital.
What
were in the Agreement
The agreement further states that the Regent has all types of services in its two hospitals in
Mirpur and Uttara. There is a laboratory for testing and a radiology department.
They have a hotel called 'Milina'. There are 36 rooms for health workers to
stay in quarantine. They have three ambulances, which are engaged in patient transportation at all times. The
regent was supposed to provide free medical treatment to any patient sent by
the health department. All expenses will meet by the health department.
রিজেন্ট হাসপাতাল কোভিড ডেডিকেটেড হয় কার
ইশারায়?
The RAB led by Executive
Magistrate Sarwar Alam raided the hospital. The hospital would have given COVID-19
'positive' and 'negative' certificates without testing, said Sarwar Alam. Sarwar
Alam told reporters that they have received evidence of three types of
allegations and crimes. They used to give fake reports without testing the
samples, they were supposed to provide free medical services as prescribed by
the government, but they have taken lakhs of taka per patient and have
submitted a bill of more than Tk 1.96 crore to the government. The RAB
executive magistrate said, "Regent Hospital has so far treated 200 COVID
patients." The third offense of the hospital authorities was that there
was an agreement with the government they would test the COVID for free for
admitted patients. But they have tested free samples 4,200 patients from IEDCR,
ITH and NIPSOM.
সরকারকে নিম্নমানের মাস্ক ও পিপিই সরবরাহ
করেছিল সাহেদ
Regent Group Chairman Mohammad Shahed provided low quality
masks and PPE to the government. These protective materials were supplied by an
organization called Albert Global Garments Factory Limited. He does not have a
garment factory by this name. He started this scam by opening a Facebook page.
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c)
JKG Health Care |
Fake
Covid-19 certificates: JKG chairman Dr Sabrina on 3-day remand
JKG Health
Care Chairman Dr Sabrina Arif Chowdhury, also a government official, was placed
on a three-day remand by a Dhaka court today in connection with a case filed
over issuing fake Covid-19 test reports.
https://www.thedailystar.net/jkg-chairman-dr-sabrina-chowdhury-on-3-day-remand-1929657
44 booths set up for collecting
COVID-19 samples
A private
voluntary organisation, getting the green light from the government, has
installed a total of 44 booths to collect samples from suspected coronavirus
patients in Dhaka and Narayanganj. The organisation -- JKG Healthcare --
collects around 300 to 350 samples daily from six places of Dhaka and
Narayanganj and later sends them to government laboratories for testing.
https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/44-booths-set-up-for-collecting-covid-19-samples
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d)
Shahabuddin Medical College Hospital |
Unauthorised Covid-19 tests:
Assistant director of SMCH, two others detained
Three people, including an assistant
director of Shahabuddin Medical College Hospital (SMCH), were detained on charges of conducting unauthorised antibody
tests on patients to detect Covid-19 and test report forgery. A mobile court,
led by Executive Magistrate Sarwoer Alam, conducted a drive and found the
anomalies. The hospital authorities have been deceiving patients in the name of
detecting Covid-19 through rapid test kits which are not approved by the
government yet.
RAB arrests Shahabuddin Medical
College Hospital MD
The Rapid
Action Battalion on Monday night arrested Shahabuddin Medical College Hospital
managing director Foysal Al Islam hours it filed a case against hospital
authorities. RAB officials said they would seal off the hospital and file a
case against its authority as they unearthed yet another COVID-19 testing
forgery scam there while they also found other irregularities.
https://www.newagebd.net/article/111711/rab-arrests-shahabuddin-medical-college-hospital-md
e) Pabna’s Rooppur Medicare
Clinic
|
Fake Covid-19 certificates:
Pabna’s Rooppur Medicare Clinic sealed off
The local health department
authority 16 July 2020 sealed off Rooppur Medicare Clinic, in Ishwardi upazila
of Pabna, for issuing fake Covid-19 certificates and charging patients for
treatment.
f) DGHS
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DGHS
chief Azad quits amid scams
Amid severe criticism and scams related to Covid-19 tests,
Prof Abul Kalam Azad has stepped down as the director general of the
Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). He tendered his resignation
letter to the public administration ministry yesterday, Abdul Mannan, secretary
of Health Services Division,
https://www.thedailystar.net/city/news/dg-dghs-abul-kalam-azad-resigns-1933977
DGHS
DG Azad’s appointment cancelled
The government on 23 July 2020 cancelled the appointment of
Directorate General of Health Services director general Abul Kalam Azad. Public
administration ministry in a notification made the announcement. It said that
the appointment of Azad as the DG of DGHS has been cancelled with effect from
July 21, 2020 upon his application. Azad submitted his resignation to the
public administration ministry on 21 July 2020 amid widespread criticism over
corruption in the health sector.
https://www.newagebd.net/article/111907/dghs-dg-azads-appointment-cancelled
DGHS
director (hospital) being transferred
After Prof Abul Kalam Azad stepped down as
director general of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS)
yesterday, its Director (Hospital) Aminul Hasan is now being removed from the
post amid severe criticism over Covid-19 tests.
https://www.thedailystar.net/dghs-director-hospital-now-being-transferred-1934461
Khursid
Alam made new DG of DGHS
The government on 23 July 2020 made Dhaka Medical College
surgery professor Abul Bashar Mohammad Khursid Alam as the new director general
of Directorate General of Health Services. Khurshid Alam’s appointment comes
hours after the public administration ministry cancelled the appointment of
outgoing DGHS director general Abul Kalam Azad.
https://www.newagebd.net/article/111907/khursid-alam-made-new-dg-of-dghs
Minister
for stern action against messed up DGHS wings
Health minister Zahid Maleque on Wednesday said that the
Directorate General of Health Services wings, which faced criticism during the
ongoing COVID-19 crisis, would be inspected and stern action would be taken
against the officials. The minister made the comment replying to a query if the
director for hospital wing Aminul Hassan would be removed from his post amid
criticism over his role during the crisis.
https://www.newagebd.net/article/111836/minister-for-stern-action-against-messed-up-dghs-wings
g) Destination Italy
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151
Bangladeshis refused entry to Italy
Italy did not allow 151 Bangladeshi
passengers to enter into the country today who were on board a Qatar Airways
flight from Dhaka. Qatar Airways will fly the Bangladeshi passengers back to
Dhaka on 9 July 2020. "We did not know of the Italian government's
decision that no passengers from Bangladesh wound be allowed to enter into
Italy," the official said.
Italy
bars entry to passengers from Bangladesh till October 5
In a major setback for many Bangladeshi
expatriates waiting to return to their workplaces in Italy, the European
country today put restriction on entry of passengers from Bangladesh into its
territory till October 5. Earlier on July 7, the Italian government imposed the
restriction for a week after a significant number of passengers of a special
flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines tested positive for Covid-19 once they
landed at the airport in Rome on July 6. The passengers had documents
certifying that they had tested negative for Covid-19 and were safe to
travel.Later, Italy on July 8 denied entry to around 151 Bangladeshi passengers
-- on board a transit flight of Qatar Airways -- into the country and sent them
back to Dhaka.
https://www.thedailystar.net/italy-bars-entry-passengers-bangladesh-till-october-5-1927589
h) Health Scams and aftermath
|
Fake
Covid Certificates: Public health, country’s image abroad at stake
The fake Covid-19 tests
have not only posed a risk to public health but also put the Bangladeshi
expatriates in trouble. Many expatriates might face problems returning abroad
if other countries have a poor impression of Bangladesh's testing and overall
handling of the pandemic.Japan, Italy and South Korea have already restricted
the entry of Bangladeshis after some of them, with documents certifying that
they didn't have the coronavirus, tested positive after they arrived in those
countries.
Regent
and JKG scams: Is this the face of a new normal in healthcare?
Nowadays, we often hear the term "new normal",
which refers to the coping strategy in the post-Covid-19 era. Will this be the
new normal healthcare in the post-Covid-19 era in Bangladesh? Hopefully not.
But these two scandals are not isolated incidents; scams like these have long
been feeding on the healthcare system. The DGHS seems to have finally woken up
a bit as it cancelled Covid-19 testing approvals awarded to five different
hospitals on various grounds. But neither the health ministry nor the DGHS can
avoid their share of responsibilities in the blunder, and engaging in a blame
game is futile. Those who are responsible for this must be brought to justice.
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i) Covid-19 certificate for traveler |
Covid-19
certificate must for travel abroad from July 23
The government on 18 July 2020 decided to implement its earlier
decision that all passengers need to show Covid-19 negative certificates --
from government-authorised testing centres -- at the airports before leaving
the country, from July 23. "As per
directives of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), all departing
passengers from Bangladesh must show Covid-19 negative certificates from
government-listed 16 testing facilities -- done no more than 72 hours before
their international flights," said Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh
(CAAB) in a circular.
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