Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud on Thursday more than one-third of the country's people have been brought under the government's assistance schemes amid global coronavirus outbreak.

He came up with the information at a briefing at Chittagong Circuit House after meeting public representatives and various stakeholders in Chattogram, said a PID handout

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has taken various steps to protect the lives and livelihood of the country’s people during this outbreak.

The Information Minister said the situation in Bangladesh "is still much better" than many other countries because of the Prime Minister's steps since the outbreak.

Until Thursday, Bangladesh has confirmed 12,425 coronavirus cases and 199 deaths.  

“Infections are on the rise and any situation can arise. That is why we're working with everyone's cooperation," he said.

Mentioning that lockdown had been relaxed in many countries around the world, including Spain, Italy and Singapore, where between two to three hundred people are still dying every day, he said that in order to save lives, people's livelihood must also be protected.

For these reasons, the government has decided to open shops from 10am to 4pm in a limited scale from May 10, and health care instructions have also been issued, said the minister.

Being asked if the opening of markets and mosques would increase the spread of the infection, the Information Minister said, "If we all collectively make people aware, it'll be much easier to tackle this challenge.

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“The media workers have been campaigning from the beginning in this regard so that no one goes to the market unnecessarily and people follow hygiene rules when they go to markets and mosques.”