City corporations across the country remain wary and ill-prepared to execute zone-wise lockdowns, scheduled to be imposed shortly, even though the government finalized a strategy last week.
Apart from Dhaka North and South city corporations (DNCC; DSCC), the remaining city corporations across the country are unaware of the standard operation procedures (SoPs) in order to implement the zone-wise lockdown.
Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperative (LGRD) Minister Md Tajul Islam conducted a virtual meeting with the mayors of all the city corporations of the country on Wednesday night amid the worsening situation.
Sources present at the meeting confirmed the development to Dhaka Tribune.
Although the meeting did not conclude at the time of filing this report at 10pm Wednesday, the meeting sources said Tajul urged all the mayors to complete all necessary preparations needed to lock down the affected zones immediately.
The minister also directed the mayors to form committees by engaging the local or zonal communities in this regard.
The committees are to include ward councillors, religious leaders, civil society organization (CSOs), local NGOs, teachers, youth clubs, boy scouts, girl guides, health and social welfare local officials and staff, police, and other law enforcement authorities.
Additionally, the formations of a volunteer committee and a monitoring committee were also suggested.
Elected public representatives are slated to lead the committees, with active involvement of health and police officials.
Sources also said city corporations were to establish control centres in each locked down area from where the committees could oversee the execution and monitoring of lockdowns.
They also revealed how the mayors demanded financial support to ensure effective implementation of lockdowns.
In response, the LGRD minister pledged to allocate adequate funds for enforcing lockdowns.
He also assured that relief aid would be available for the respective areas that have ultra-poor households.
According to the meeting’s discussion, the local or zonal committees would bear the responsibility of ensuring food supply, medical facilities, and other necessary support as and when needed.
Before locking down an area, sample collection booths must be set up and trained sample collectors would be deployed. Schools, colleges, or community centres are to be converted to isolation centres if there are no hospitals in the area for isolation.
The meeting also decided to ensure adequate treatment to all positive cases with the aim of zero deaths. Also, free ambulances must be provided to transport ultra-poor people of the zones and those in dire need.
DNCC mayor Atiqul Islam said: “All the issues regarding lockdown and capacity of the city corporations were discussed in the meeting.”
“However, decisions are still not finalized as the meeting is still going on,” he told Dhaka Tribune at 9:30pm.
Areas in Dhaka's two city corporations would be declared red zones if more than 60 confirmed cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 people are detected in those vicinities in the preceding 14 days, according to the government's finalized zone-based lockdown strategy.
At the district level, the civil surgeons can declare red zones if more than 10 confirmed cases per 100,000 people are detected in the preceding 14 days.