The government has again extended the existing restrictions on public movement and gathering by 10 more days to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus that has killed over 12,800 people in Bangladesh so far.
The decision came at a time when the districts bordering India are experiencing a surge in Covid cases with the community transmission of the Indian variant in the country being confirmed. Additionally, the test positivity rate is currently above 10% in Bangladesh.
The nationwide lockdown, which has been followed in a relaxed way, was supposed to end at midnight on Sunday. Now, the restrictions will remain in place until midnight on June 16, said a notification issued by the Cabinet Division on Sunday.
According to the new directive, all tourist spots, resorts, community and entertainment centres will remain closed. No social, political and religious gatherings will be allowed.
All types of public transport, including long-haul services, will be allowed to operate at half capacity. But everyone concerned, including passengers, drivers and their assistants, will have to wear face masks and follow health safety rules.
All restaurants and eateries will be allowed to offer dine-in facilities at half capacity between 6am and 10pm every day. They will also continue to provide online, takeaway or home delivery services.
In coordination with the technical committee concerned, the deputy commissioners of districts, which have turned into Covid-19 hotspots, will be able to take any steps they deem necessary to curb the virus transmission, according to the notification.
With Covid-19 cases growing at an alarming rate since mid-March, the government had imposed a “loose nationwide lockdown” for one week from April 5 to contain the spread.
Later, a “stricter” set of restrictions on public movement and gatherings were announced from April 14 to 21. Since then, the restrictions have been extended several times considering the situation.
Covid situation
According to the latest data, between Saturday and Sunday mornings, as many as 15,613 samples were tested at 509 authorized labs across the country, yielding a positivity rate of 10.73%.
Meanwhile, the overall Covid-19 infection rate stood at 13.41%.
Health directorate statistics showed that 92.64% of people infected since March last year have recovered. The mortality rate currently stands at 1.58%.
With public transports operating, shopping malls and shops open, and Covid-19 cases soaring in the frontier districts because of the highly contagious Indian variant, experts fear that Bangladesh may face the worst outbreak of the deadly virus at the end of June.
They said that if the Indian variant could make its way into other areas from the border districts, Bangladesh is likely to witness more than 20,000 cases a day in early July, raising the fatality rate sharply.
On April 26, Bangladesh had also closed its border with India. The travel ban on general people has been extended multiple times since then. Recently, the ban was extended again until June 14.
However, several border districts recently had to impose strict lockdowns after the number of cases and deaths spiked alarmingly. But locals were reportedly seen flouting the rules and going about their businesses amid the lockdown.
Test positivity rate is a concern
Prof Robed Amin, one of the spokespersons of DGHS Covid-19 management, said although 92% of the infected people had recovered till now, the case positivity rate had never come under 5% since mid-March.
A few days back, the rate came down to around 6-7%. But it again gradually increased and on June 5, it was over 11%, he added.
Prof Robed Amin, director (Non Communicable Disease Control) of DGHS, while referring to the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), said the Indian variant, recently named as delta variant by WHO, had started community transmission in different areas of the country, including areas bordering India.
The recovery rate was satisfactory but in the last few days the death rate had been increasing, he added.
Of the deceased in the last 24 hours, a number of them were from Rajshahi Medical College hospital or the surrounding border and remote areas, the professor said.
Analyses of the Covid-19 situation, he noted, show that the health authorities had been able to control the difficult situation in April. May was comparatively stable as well, said Prof Robed.
However, early indications in June show that in this month things might not be the same, he warned, urging all to wear facemasks and follow health rules regularly.
