As high as 2,179 officials and employees of the commercial banks in the country have been infected with coronavirus, while 36 officials and employees have died from the rampaging Covid-19.
Bankers attributed to the huge gathering in bank branches as being the main reason for the increasing trend of infections and fatalities among bankers.
As per data of the Association of Bankers, Bangladesh (ABB), around 1,300 officials and employees of 36 private commercial banks in the country were infected with coronavirus, while 13 bank staff of private commercial banks have died from the Covid-19 till June 15 of this year.
Talking to Dhaka Tribune, ABB secretary-general Rahel Ahmed has said the infections and fatalities’ figure were collected from 36 banks.
Besides, 879 officials and employees of four state-owned commercial banks- Sonali, Rupali, Janata and Agrani Bank were infected with coronavirus, while their 23 officials and employees died from COVID-19 till yesterday, according to tallies of the banks concerned.
State-owned Sonali Bank has the highest, 428 officials and employees, infected with the coronavirus. Of them, 35 officials of the head office of the bank were infected with Covid-19, while 6 officials died from the virus, says a high official of the Bank.
Around 200 officials of Janata Bank were infected with Covid-19, while 5 officials have died from the virus.
Highest 9 officials and employees of Agrani Bank have died from Covid-19, while 140 officials tested Covid-19 positive, says its Managing director Mohammad Shams-Ul Islam.
111 officials of Rupali Bank tested Covid-19 positive, while three officials of the bank died from the virus infection.
Bankers say that day by day many bankers are being infected with the virus. Bankers could not maintain the hygiene rules properly due to the huge gathering of customers in bank branches, they add.
Talking to Dhaka Tribune, Pubali Bank managing director Abdul Halim Chowdhury said that it is not possible to maintain the hygiene rules properly in bank branches as bankers are dealing with the clients as front liners.
“Around 200 officials of our bank were infected with the virus. However, we are trying to maintain the hygiene rules in our bank branch,” he added.
If the rising trend of Covid-19 infection continues among bankers, banks would face difficulties to provide banking services, says a high official of a private commercial bank.
Since the beginning of coronavirus pandemic, the central bank has issued several circulars to the commercial banks for maintaining social distancing and hygiene rules in bank branches to tackle the outbreak of the virus.
On April 26, City bank official Muztaba Shahriar died from the novel coronavirus, the first official of a commercial bank, who died of Covid-19.
