Bangladesh: Hospitals barred from giving info to media

Relatives lament the death of a woman, who was reportedly refused ICU facility while receiving treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, on Friday. — Sourav Lasker

The Dhaka district civil surgeon office has requested the media to refrain from taking Covid patient-related pictures or videos or conducting interviews with hospitals about Covid patients.

The civil surgeon office has also asked the authorities of the hospitals under its jurisdiction to not share any information with the media about the disease or those suffering from the disease.

Dhaka civil surgeon Abu Hossain Md Moinul Ahsan on Thursday sent a letter to the hospitals in this regard.

Ahsan told New Age that the decision was taken to maintain the privacy of patients.

The letter said that taking pictures or capturing videos of a patient constitutes a breach of the patient’s privacy.

The ban comes at a time when the Covid pandemic has turned highly deadly in the country.

Dhaka Union of Journalists and Dhaka Reporters Unity have expressed concern over the instructions.

In a statement the DUJ said that the move amounted to interference in professional duties of journalists and it was in conflict with the policy of a free flow of information. The DRU demanded immediate withdrawal of the instructions.

Earlier, in April 2020, health minister Zahid Maleque directed officials not to talk to the media about Covid-19, saying that it went against the government policy.

New Age