Thirty-seven-year-old Afroza’s life turned upside down when she lost her husband to Covid-19 last year. He died of a heart attack after contracting Covid-19 in Oman. Afroza and her children could not see him for the very last time.

The grieving family were trying to get their life back together, but life had other plans for them.

Almost all of them tested positive in April.  Afroza, her sisters, children and brother-in-law tested Covid-19 positive but Afroza was the only one who needed hospitalization.

Afroza’s lungs were severely infected by the virus. Her bother Symon Islam Yeal told Dhaka Tribune that almost 90% of his sister’s lungs had been infected and therefore there was no way other than to take her to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of United Hospital.

The Covid-19 crisis is not only taking lives. Families of the patients are overburdened with treatment costs. Dhaka Tribune talked to a few patients’ families to draw a picture of how Covid-19 had been draining its victims financially.

“We were overburdened with the cost of medicines as seven people in our family were infected. We spent almost Tk2 lakh for the medicine.  Among them, my sister was in bad shape. We are doing everything to save her,” Afroza’s brother said.

United Hospital charges almost Tk60,000 per day. Different lab tests cost more than Tk60,000. The hospital bills kept mounting and then Afroza’s family realized that it was next to impossible to manage the huge amount of money by themselves.

Yeal, with the help of his friends, started a fundraising event on Facebook on April 24 to raise money for his sister's treatment. Support poured in from home and abroad within a few days. Yeal has been able to manage more than Tk7 lakh for his sister's treatment so far.  

A Covid-19 patient waits for her turn to get treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) on Sunday, April 11, 2021. With the latest surge in Covid-19, Dhaka hospitals are struggling to provide medical help to the increasing number of patients | Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka TribuneHe said: “Dozens of people have been calling, texting, and reaching out to my family every day to check on my sister and the kids since the fundraising event started. Many people have contributed a significant amount of money and the fund is now being spent on hospital payments and medications for my Covid-infected family members.”

Yeal estimates that his sister needs around Tk20 lakh to complete her treatment and he is not even close to the target.

Afroza’s health condition is improving and her doctors said that they were hopeful that she would make a recovery.

However, Yeal said the doctors had diagnosed Afroza with long-haul Covid-19. She might need to be in the hospital for months and need oxygen support and medication.

The treatment cost for Covid-19 varies from hospital to hospital. Although Covid-19 treatment is expensive in general, the amount of money people need to spend depends on the patient’s condition.

According to a spokesperson of Anwar Khan Modern Medical College Hospital, a single bed in the Covid ward per day in the hospital costs Tk1,200 to Tk1,500.