Bangladesh to extend lockdown till May 30

Bangladesh is going to extend the general holidays once more till May 30 and enforce strict measures as the lethal coronavirus pandemic cases have rapidly been increasing in the country of above 165 million people. 

“The prime minister will take the decision over the extension of general holidays tomorrow [Thursday] as we have already sent a summary in this regard,” said State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain.

“We have proposed extending the public holidays until May 30 to curb the spread of deadly coronavirus,” he added.

“During the extended period, all kinds of public transport movement will be strictly restricted,” he added.

A gazette notification will soon be issued in this regard.

Considering the gravity of the coronavirus outbreak, the authorities on May 4 ordered a ban on all inter-district transport services during the Eid-ul-Fitr holidays.

"No one will be allowed to return to their home districts during the Eid holidays. Inter-district transport services will remain suspended during the period," the Cabinet Division announced on May 4 via a gazette notification.

Government employees could not leave their respective stations, according to the gazette. 

Officials are predicting a huge rush during Eid vacation due to garment, factory and market workers wanting to return home during the vacations. But the government wants to hold back the rush by strictly putting a lock on the transport system.

“We did not take any decision to resume passenger train services. The suspension will continue until we get the signal from the top management of the government,” said Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujan on Wednesday during a visit to Tejgaon Railway Station.

The National Technical Advisory Committee (NTAC) has already recommended to Health Minister Zahid Maleque an extension of public holidays as coronavirus cases and deaths have been going up.

According to officials of the Ministry of Public Administration, from May 17 to May 30 there are only seven working days due to the Eid vacations and other general holidays.

On March 23, the government declared a general holiday from March 26 to April 4 to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Later, the shutdown was extended in six phases. A notification on April 25 included a directive that all ministries, divisions and their subordinate offices involved in providing emergency services would remain open on a limited scale during the extended general holidays.

On the same day, the Public Administration Ministry said government offices at division, district and upazila levels under 18 ministries and divisions would remain open on a limited scale.

The government declared all educational institutions closed and shut down rail, road, river and air communications to prevent the spread of the highly contagious virus.

Amid high risks of coronavirus transmission, some garment factories reopened on April 26 and factory owners claimed they were operating with workers available in Dhaka while adhering to hygiene-related measures.

Until Wednesday, Bangladesh had confirmed 17,822 coronavirus cases and 269 deaths.

Till now, the fast spreading coronavirus has claimed more than 294,773 lives and infected more than 4,381,966 people across the world, according to worldometer.

As many as 1,625,570 people have recovered from Covid-19, a disease caused by a new strain of coronavirus, which has spread to 212 countries and territories across the planet.