Disparity in already inadequate testing capability

Bangladesh is ranked at the bottom of Covid-19 tests against total population, 174th according to worldometers.info. On the other hand, there is extreme disparity between Covid-19 testing facilities in the capital and other areas, with only 39 RT-PCR machines outside Dhaka out of a total 128 machines.

Why exactly is mass testing important? Why, after one and a half years of pandemic, the govt has not been able to create adequate testing capability? When Covid-19 is rampant in districts outside Dhaka, what impact does this disparity cause?

In Straight from Star Newsroom, Mohammad Jamil Khan talks to The Daily Star reporter Zyma Islam to discuss this issue.