The government has extended the ongoing curbs on public movement and gathering in a bid to stop further spread of Covid-19.
In a notification on Sunday, the Cabinet Division said that the restrictions have been extended till June 6 midnight.
State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain said the move came on the advice of the National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19.
"It will continue until the daily infection rate drops to 5%. But that too will depend on observations,” he told reporters at the Secretariat on Sunday.
Currently, all kinds of public transport, including long-haul services, can operate carrying passengers at half the capacity, by making masks mandatory for passengers, drivers and their assistants.
Restaurants and eateries, which until now could operate for takeaway services, have been allowed to offer dine-in facilities at half the capacity.
This year, the government initially imposed the countrywide restrictions on public movement on April 5, with the strict lockdown put into effect from April 14. The lockdown was later extended till May 23.
Until the new announcement, the restrictions were effective till May 30.
Another wave of Covid-19?
A top official in the Ministry of Public Administration said the government is concerned about another possible wave in June due to the detection of the Indian variant.
Lockdowns are being imposed in the border areas and need to be imposed on areas with high infection rates as well. Some restrictions must be followed, including wearing of masks and maintaining the health safety guidelines, he added.
The Bangladesh government has imposed a ban on travel to and from India in three phases, from April 26, until May 31 to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and the new variant of the deadly disease.
The travel ban was extended for another 14 days, confirmed State Minister Farhad Hossain on Sunday.
However, only those stranded over there were returning home with clearance from the Bangladeshi Deputy High Commission in Kolkata, said Utpala Roy, the medical officer at the Benapole Check Post Immigration.
The return of these people is taking place at a time when concern among the health authorities and people of the country is rising with 20 cases of the Indian variant already detected.
Health authorities say the infection rate is showing a significant rise in districts that share borders with or are close to India.
Also read - Lockdown in Chapainawabganj fails to keep residents home
Besides Chapainawabganj, 14 other border districts with higher infection rates include Chuadanga, Naogaon, Rajshahi and Jessore.
Over the past week or so, Chapainawabganj has turned into the latest Covid-19 hotspot, leading to a strict lockdown that will be in place till Monday.
On May 8 this year, Bangladesh had confirmed the first two patients, who had visited India, infected with the Indian variant.
Till Saturday morning, Bangladesh registered 38 new deaths from Covid-19, taking the country’s total death toll to 12,549.
During the same period, 1,043 more people tested positive for Covid-19. With the latest tally, the nationwide caseload stands at 797,386 as of Saturday morning.
The latest figures show an infection rate of 7.91%.
The authorities detected the UK variant in January but confirmed the detection in March. Confirmation regarding three other variants came in late April.
