The Second Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic in Bangladesh: An Urgent Call to Save Lives

Objectives Mental health problems significantly increased worldwide during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. At the early stage of the outbreak, the government of Bangladesh imposed lockdown and quarantine approaches to prevent the spread of the virus, which impacted people’s daily life and health. The COVID-19 pandemic has also affected people’s economic status, healthcare facilities and other lifestyle factors in Bangladesh. We aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health among the Bangladeshi population. Methods We conducted an online cross-sectional survey among 672 Bangladeshi people aged between 15 and 65 years all over the country from 15 April to 10 May 2020. After obtaining electronic consent, we conducted a survey assessing people’s sociodemographic profiles and psychometric measures. We used The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale-8, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item Scale and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index to assess loneliness, depression, anxiety and sleep disturbance, respectively. Results The prevalence of loneliness, depression, anxiety and sleep disturbance was estimated at 71% (mild: 32%, moderate: 29%, severe: 10%), 38% (mild: 24%, moderate: 11%, severe: 3%), 64% (mild: 30%, moderate: 17%, severe: 17%) and 73% (mild: 50%, moderate: 18%, severe: 5%), respectively. In Bangladesh, the key factors associated with poor mental health during COVID-19 were female sex, unemployment, being a student, obesity and living without a family. The present study also identified statistically significant interrelationships among the measured mental health issues. Conclusions A large portion of respondents reported mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. The present study suggests longitudinal assessments of mental health among Bangladeshi people to determine the gravity of this issue during and after the pandemic. Appropriate supportive programmes and interventional approaches would address mental health problems in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This article mainly explores the economic and health challenges faced by Bangladesh amid COVID‐19 and the policies taken by the government of Bangladesh to tackle the economic and health issues. Bangladesh is ranked as one of the worst‐hit countries in terms of total corona infections. Affecting the social, economic, and health sectors of the country, COVID‐19 pandemic has dampened the overall economic well‐being and thus GDP growth along with skyrocketing poverty, inequality, and unemployment nationwide. To tackle these crises, the government has initiated effective policy measures which, in turn, enhanced the recovery rate of COVID‐19 positive patients and strengthened the recovery of economic indicators. Therefore, this article suggests other hard‐hit COVID‐19 affected countries following the recovery model of Bangladesh to encounter the economic and health challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic.