On average, more than 30 doctors have tested positive for coronavirus daily in the last week, according to the records of Bangladesh Doctors Foundation (BDF).

As many as 345 doctors at government, private and specialised hospitals were infected with Covid-19 until 8:00pm yesterday, Nirupam Das, chief administrator of BDS, told The Daily Star.

The number of infected doctors was 100 until April 17, he added.

According to BDF, the main reason behind the high rate of infection among doctors and other healthcare workers in Bangladesh are: "poor quality" of personal protective equipment (PPE) provided to doctors, community transmission and patients concealing having coronavirus symptoms.

Sometimes, doctors are not put in isolation and quarantine right after any of their colleagues exhibit Covid-19 symptoms, keeping a scope to infect others, the organisation said.

According to the BDF tally, 255 of the infected doctors are from hospitals in Dhaka. Of them, 163 were from government hospitals, 76 from private hospitals while 20 from other healthcare service providers.

Meanwhile, 26 doctors were infected at hospitals in Mymensingh division and 12 more in Chattogram division, it added.

The foundation says many infected doctors are from hospitals that are not designated for Covid-19 treatment. Patients hiding coronavirus symptoms while receiving treatment may have contributed largely to the transmission, the doctors say.

"We are at risk and the risk is growing daily as people are hiding symptoms of Covid-19," a doctor of Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital said seeking anonymity.

Doctors also have serious concerns over the quality of PPEs, especially masks, provided by the authorities concerned.

Senior doctors and healthcare experts have said that all government and private hospitals across the country need to be brought under a central system as nearly 70 percent of healthcare services are provided by private hospitals.

25 infected BRB Hospital

At least 23 health care service providers, including 15 nurses, and two patients at BRB Hospital in capital's Panthapath were tested Covid-19 positive.

As a surgeon developed Covid-19 symptoms, his sample was sent to IEDCR for test on April 15. Two days later, IEDCR confirmed that the doctor has been tested positive.

The doctor might have infected after he conducted a surgery on a patient on April 12. The patient who had no symptoms of the virus was tested positive on April 20, said an official of the hospital.

The surgery was conducted on the patient on humanitarian ground considering his condition, the hospital official added.

As part of contract tracing, around 50 others staffers and patients were tested later. Of them 25 were tested positive. The staffers found positive are in quarantine in the hospital. None of them has any symptom yet, the staffers said.

The staffer said they were in dilemma as the high ups of the hospital were yet to take further steps. "We want the IEDCR to look into the issue," the official said.

50 staffers infected in Asgar Ali Hospital

At least 50 staffers, including 22 doctors, of Asgar Ali Hospital in capital's Gendaria were tested Covid-19 positive so far, according to Foundation for Doctors Safety and Responsibility.

Rahat Anwar, joint secretary of the organisation, said "We are very much concerned with the news that so many doctors and staffers of the private hospital were infected. As the hospital is still open, other doctors, staffers and patients are at high risk of Covid-19 infection."

An infected doctor yesterday said he worked at the hospital four days ago. "As I exhibited symptoms, I did test and was found infected," he told The Daily Star.

Farah Nur, manager of the hospital, said she was unaware about infection among the doctors and staffers.

First doctor at Kurmitola General Hospital tested positive

A doctor working at Kurmitola General Hospital has tested Covid-19 positive on Friday. He is the first physician to be infected at the hospital dedicated for treating coronavirus patients.

"The doctor showed Covid-19 symptoms a couple of days ago. Samples were collected for test, and the report was released yesterday confirming that he was Covid-19 positive," said Dr Nirupam Das.

The doctor was receiving treatment at his home.

Contacted, a top official of the hospital confirmed that he was the first doctor at the hospital to be infected with the virus.