As Covid-19 ravages Bangladesh, shop owners and retailers have urged the government to allow them reopen stores amid an all-out lockdown to combat the dramatic rise in cases.
On Monday, the government extended its strictest lockdown by a week to July 14 amid a surge in infections led by the highly contagious Delta variant.
The same day, the health authorities reported 164 fatalities, the biggest daily rise since the pandemic began, taking the death toll to 15,229.
It also reported the highest-ever number of new daily infections at 9,964, with the total standing at 954,881.
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In an open letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday, the shop owners’ association demanded to reopen stores while “strictly maintaining the health safety rules,” reports Bangla Tribune.
Retailers across the country are in a dire situation amid the lockdown with the army and police ordered to stop people leaving their homes except for emergencies or to buy essentials, said Tawfiq Ehesan, convener of the association, “Dokan Bebshayi Kalyan Samity.”
“If we are allowed to reopen shops, even for a limited time, ahead of the Eid, retailers will be able to make ends meet,” he told the online news outlet.
Factories are allowed to operate observing health protocols while all offices, malls, shops, and transportation remain shut except essential goods carriers and ambulances during the ongoing lockdown.
The shutdown has sparked an exodus of migrant workers from the capital Dhaka to home villages.
Also Read - Hard lockdown extended by another week as virus engulfs Bangladesh
Health experts, however, do not support the reopening of stores but stress on efforts to help retailers.
“Small shop owners are one of the groups who are suffering the most. The government should take measures for them,” said Mushtaq Hossain, an adviser to the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR).
Allowing stores to reopen will only spike infections, he said before adding: “The authorities have to make sure that these people have food in their homes. Public representatives are responsible for this. Their efforts need to be monitored.”
Despite the order of tight control, Covid-19 cases and deaths are continuing to rise.
Nearly 80% of the infections in June were caused by the Delta variant, according to IEDCR, the government’s disease control agency.
Hospitals are overwhelmed with coronavirus patients, particularly in districts bordering India where the Delta variant was first identified.
