People continue to venture out with families and friends in Dhaka defying the lockdown rules even though Bangladesh recorded the highest daily rise in its Covid-19 death toll on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, there was nothing unique about the ongoing strict lockdown as people were seen in the capital moving without emergency reasons in private cars and rickshaws plying everywhere.
Dhaka wore almost a normal look with an increased number of vehicles and people on the streets while only the movement of public transport remained suspended as per the government restrictions.
With the spike in Covid-19 cases, hospitals in cities and districts are getting overwhelmed with patients but the lockdown restrictions are being largely ignored.
Also Read - Covid-19: Death toll crosses 20,000 in Bangladesh
The increased movement of people in different areas of Dhaka including Kakrail, Malibagh, Segunbagicha, Dhanmondi, Mohammadpur, Shahbagh, Kataban and Farmgate stayed the same.
Even people were seen gossiping on roads and moving from one place to another without wearing masks.
Asaduzzaman, a traffic inspector of Mohakhali area, said that the pressure of vehicles increased on Wednesday compared to the last few days.
“In some areas, traffic control is needed due to a rise in the number of vehicles,” he added.
He further said that when police stop vehicles at check-posts, passengers show various causes for coming out of home including running errands, hospitalization of patients and vaccination.
“We’re filing cases and realizing fines from those who cannot show a valid reason for going outdoors but people are coming out despite all this.”
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As the country battles a brutal wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the nationwide death toll due to Covid-19 in Bangladesh crossed the grim 20,000 mark on Wednesday, while the caseload crossed 1.2 million.
The country's health authorities reported 237 more deaths and 16,230 new cases of the pandemic disease in the 24 hours between 8am Tuesday and 8am Wednesday, according to the daily Covid-19 bulletin released by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) on Wednesday afternoon.
With the latest tally in, the Covid-19 death toll in Bangladesh now stands at 20,016, while the total number of cases stands at 1,210,982.
It took only four days to add the latest 1,000 deaths to the nationwide toll. Bangladesh crossed the 19,000 mark in Covid deaths on July 24.
The country has been seeing nearly 200 deaths every day for the past two weeks and breaking records of daily cases and deaths almost every other day.
Health authorities logged record-high 258 Covid deaths in 24 hours on Tuesday, while the highest-ever 15,192 Covid cases in a single day was reported on Monday.