No one will be allowed to come out of their houses after 6pm during the general holidays declared by the government, in order to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in Bangladesh.
The Ministry of Public Administration on Saturday issued a gazette notification extending the general holidays till April 25.
On March 26, the government first introduced a 10-day shutdown till April 4, which was later extended till April 11, and then again till April 14.
With the new notice, the ministry said the extended holidays will be unlike the ones being observed in the country right now.
It asked people to stay at home in order to minimize the spread of coronavirus infection and requested people not to go out except for extreme emergencies.
“No one can go outside from 6pm to 6am. Legal action will be taken against anyone who violates this directive,” warned the ministry.
With the notification, the ministry limited movement of people from one area to another. It also asked all government officials and staff to be at their work stations in their respective divisions, districts, upazilas, and unions.
However, emergency and utility services such as electricity, water, gas, telephone, and internet will remain out of the purview of this directive.
Agricultural products, insecticides, fuel, newspapers, food, industrial products, medical equipment, emergency and essential product transportation will not fall under this restriction either.
Kitchen markets, groceries, pharmacies, and hospitals are also excluded from the restrictions.
“Offices can remain open for emergency needs. If required, the pharmaceutical, production and export-oriented industries can keep their factories open,” added the notification.
The government will gradually remove restrictions from transports including rickshaws, vans, trains, and buses once the situation improves, it added.
Bangladesh Bank will issue guidelines on keeping banks open on a limited scale considering the public need, said the notification.
A total of 482 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Bangladesh as of Saturday, with 30 deaths, so far.
The global death toll from the infection, which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, stands at over 103,000 with more than 1.7 million confirmed cases, according to Worldometer.
