Expressing concerns over the recent surge of Covid-19 cases across the world, the advisory panel has asked people in Bangladesh to mask up as well as maintain social distancing and safety rules
The National Technical Advisory Committee (NTAC) on Covid-19 made the call in a statement following a meeting on Sunday, says a statement by its chief Dr Mohammad Shahidullah.
It recommended ensuring Covid-19 negative certificates while entering Bangladesh from those countries where cases are rising. It also suggested strengthening the screening of passengers at all ports.
The committee recommended ensuring wearing of masks in shopping malls, markets, shops and during travel in different parts of the country on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.
It also asked the Islamic Foundation to ensure health protocols during Tarawih prayer and Eid Jamaat.
The health ministry has been asked to initiate measures to provide directives to tackle Covid-19 after arranging meetings with the hospitals and Directorate General of Health Services.
The panel also suggested arranging a inter-ministerial meeting with the involvement of NTAC and make them alert in controlling Covid-19 cases.
It also underlined the need for genome sequencing and surveillance.
The advisory committee’s recommendations come a day after Health Minister Zahid Maleque said that several countries, including neighbouring India, have seen a recent uptick in Covid-19 cases, which may affect Bangladesh as well.
The number of daily cases in Bangladesh is negligible now, but the situation may take a turn for the worse considering the surge in cases worldwide, he said.
The minister said that many people from Bangladesh are travelling to India, where there has been an increase in the number of infections and that they have to be kept under monitoring upon their return.
Meanwhile, the overall number of Covid cases has surged past 509 million amid a rise in new infections in parts of the world.
According to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, the total case count mounted to 509,518,136 while the death toll from the virus reached 6,217,886 Monday morning.
The US has recorded 80,984,914 cases so far and 991,254 people have died from the virus in the country, the university data shows.
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 43,057,545 on Sunday after 2,593 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the South Asian country, showed the federal health ministry's latest data.
This is the fifth consecutive day when the number of daily new cases has surpassed the 2,000-mark, after lower tallies were reported in recent weeks.