The National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19 (NTAC) has urged people to wear face masks and to maintain caution while going out as Covid-19 cases are on the rise.
The committee also recommended that the government make masks mandatory for everyone in public places, NTAC President Dr Md Shahidullah said yesterday.
The advisory body for a meeting on Tuesday.
Bangladesh logged 357 new Covid cases in the 24 hours till yesterday morning, taking the country's total caseload to 1,954,994.
The total number of fatalities, however, remained unchanged at 29,131 as no deaths were reported during the period, according to a bulletin of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). The daily test positivity rate rose to 5.76% from Wednesday’s 3.88%.
Dr Shahidullah asked people to follow health guidelines and maintain social distancing while attending social, religious, and political programs.
Citing the worsening situation, the committee prioritized following "no mask no service" to curb the worsening pandemic situation.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Zahid Maleque yesterday requested all to get Covid booster doses as the infections keep rising.
“Covid-19 cases are increasing in Bangladesh as well as in neighbouring countries, which is why everyone should take booster shots,” he told reporters after a meeting with the Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI) at the Secretariat.
He hinted that prices of medicines might go up since raw material prices had increased. The government was working to keep medicines affordable in coordination with pharmaceutical companies, he added.
The NTAC has advised the authorities concerned to take necessary steps at the ports to ensure that new variants or sub-variants of the virus do not spread through passengers travelling from countries with higher infection rates.
It also emphasized presenting Covid-negative certificates and vaccine certificates upon arrival at the airports.
Meanwhile, hospitals have been asked to remain prepared with the necessary manpower to face any adverse situation.
The country reported its first zero Covid-19 death in a single day on November 20 last year, along with 178 cases, since the pandemic broke out here in March 2020.
On January 28, Bangladesh logged its previous highest positivity rate of 33.37%.
The country registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year and daily fatalities of 264 on August 10 in the same year.