coronavirus situation
Mall crowds may bring back Covid nightmare, warns minister
Voicing concerns over huge crowds at shopping malls violating health safety rules, Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Thursday warned that the coronavirus transmission may spike again if this trend continues till Eid-ul-Fitr.
“The government has allowed reopening shops and shopping malls on the occasion of eid, but the crowds we’re seeing there will surely contribute to the virus surge again,” he said.
The minister said, “What if you don’t buy clothes for an Eid? The government has reopened markets, but it’s up to us whether to go or not there. Many women go shopping with children without wearing masks. Though we’ve given various instructions in this regard, people aren’t maintaining the health safety rules accordingly.”
Speaking at a virtual discussion arranged by Bangladesh Private Medical College Association, he said people must cooperate with the government in containing the virus by maintaining health safety rules, physical distancing and wearing masks.
Describing lockdown as the most effective way of controlling coronavirus transmission, he said the ongoing lockdown has helped reduce the coronavirus infections and death rates in the country. “But lockdown is not a long-term solution as it affects the economy and the livelihoods of people.”
Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh sees 41 deaths in 24 hours, lowest in 39 days
The minister said the government resumed bus services in the capital and districts due to pressure from various quarters.
Zahid Maleque said the coronavirus infection came under control early this year, but the second wave of the virus has created due to people’s reckless attitude, travelling spree, mass gathering, and apathy to the health safety rules.
“We forget the past and didn’t take a lesson from it. We should keep in mind how people are suffering and dying due to the oxygen crisis in India. So, we should keep our country well by following the health safety guidelines,” he said.
Covid-19: Bangladesh sees 41 deaths in 24 hours, lowest in 39 days
Amid the declining trend in Covid-19 infections and fatalities after an alarming surge in April, Bangladesh registered 41 coronavirus-related deaths in 24 hours until Thursday, pushing up the total fatalities to 11,796.
This is the lowest number of Covid deaths in the country after March 28 this year. Bangladesh saw 35 deaths on March 28.
However, 1,822 new cases were detected during the period after the test of 21,585 samples.
The mortality rate remained static at 1.53 percent, said the Directorate General of Health Services in a handout.
The number of Covid deaths came down to 50 after over a month on Wednesday as the country saw 50 deaths on April 1 and it had kept rising since then.
Manwhile, the daily infection rate fell to 8.44 percent from Wednesday’s 8.59 percent, according to the data provided by DGHS.
The latest figure pushed up the caseload to 7,69,160.
The body count soared to over 100 during April 16-19 and on April 25 but the daily fatalities have been falling gradually since then.
Also read: Covid-19 in Bangladesh: Around 21 pc of total deaths reported in April alone
Until now, the country has tested 55,82,263 samples.
In the last 24 hours, 3,698 patients recovered from Covid-19, putting the recovery rate at 91.29 %.
Bangladesh reported its first cases on March 8 last year, before confirming the first death 10 days later.
Vaccination Drive
Bangladesh kicked off its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses it purchased from the Serum Institute of India Pvt Ltd.
Bangladesh signed an agreement with Serum for 30 million doses. But a record number of cases in India has made the delivery of the doses uncertain.
The administering of the first dose and new registration for Covid-19 jab has remained suspended since April 26.
However, DGHS DG Prof ABM Khurshid Alam assured that Bangladesh will get 2.1 million doses of vaccines by early May.
Also read: Deal with Russia soon over Covid vaccine: Health Minister
In the last 24 hours, 43 people have received the first dose and 102,915 have received the second dose of Covid vaccine, a figure which is exactly the same of yesterday, according to the DGHS handout.
So far, a total of 72,48,829 people received vaccines where 33,13,424 people managed to complete their second dose.
Vaccine stock dwindling
The DGHS on Wednesday said the stock of the Covid-19 vaccine is running out in Bangladesh as there are only 14 lakh jabs in government hands with no sign in sight to get a fresh consignment of it from India.
Speaking at a virtual press briefing, DGHS spokesperson Dr Robed Amin said, “We had around one crore and two lakh vaccines in our hands…around 88 lakh jabs have already been administered as the first and second doses. Now we’ve some 14 lakh doses in stock.”
He said there will be a vaccine crisis if a fresh consignment does not arrive in the country before the existing stock is exhausted.
Drive intensified to get vaccines from US
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Wednesday said the government has intensified its efforts to have vaccine jabs from the United States (US) as it will share up to 60 million doses of its Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine with other countries.
Also read: Bangladesh seeks immediate delivery of 4 mn vaccine doses from US: FM
Vaccine production
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on April 28 approved in principle a proposal for producing Russian and Chinese Covid-19 vaccines in Bangladesh.
The government on April 29 approved the emergency use of Sinopharm, a Chinese Covid-19 vaccine, a day after approving the emergency use of Sputnik V vaccine of Russia.
“We’ll get 5 lakh doses of the Chinese vaccine as gift within 7-10 days. Then we’ll start distribution. Then the government will start buying those on G2G basis,” Mahbubur Rahman, Director General of DGDA told reporters.
On April 28, Dr Shahida Aktar, additional secretary of the Cabinet Division noted that the government will purchase vaccine technology from Russian and China through direct procurement method (DPM).
Lockdown extended until May 16
The government has issued a notification extending the ongoing lockdown until May 16 with six fresh directives alongside the existing ones to contain the spread of Covid-19.
According to the notification issued by the Cabinet Division, the officials of all government, semi-government autonomous and private organisations, banks and financial institutions have been asked to remain at their respective workstations during the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr holidays.
Also read: Lockdown to continue until May 16, intra-district public transport services from May 6
Shops and shopping malls will remain open from 10 am to 8 pm maintaining health guidelines. If any kind of deviation and violation are seen, the shopping malls and shops will be closed instantly, says the notification.
Inter-district transport services will remain closed while only intra-district transport services will operate ensuring health guidelines from Thursday.
However, launch and train services will remain off.
Malaysia bans entry of travellers from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka
After banning Indian nationals from entering Malaysia, the government today extended the ban to cover travellers from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the ban covered all categories of long-term social visit pass holders, business travellers and social visitors.
"However, exemptions are given to holders of diplomatic and official passports as provided for under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961," he said in a statement today on the Movement Control Order (MCO), Conditional MCO (CMCO) and Recovery MCO (RMCO).
He said this category of travellers could enter Malaysia subject to the existing Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).
The government had earlier banned visitors from India following an alarming spike in COVID-19 cases in that country.
CPD survey: Almost all who lost jobs in first wave back working, but earning less
Around 62% of people had lost their jobs during April-May 2020 when the "general holiday" was put in place to face the first wave of Covid-19.
Subsequently only 15% could get a job the following month, while 85% remained unemployed for a longer period, according to a survey by the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD). Almost all of these people were able to find a job by February 2021 when the adverse impact of the first wave started to recede. The study did not capture the second wave of the pandemic.
Most of the 'incremental employment' was generated in the agriculture sector, where the share of the labour force increased from 24.3% to 27.5%. At the same time, a significant number of people left the services sector, as its share of the labour force declined from 55% to 52%. For the industrial sector it remained unchanged at just above 20%.
Self-employed, contributing family members and day labourers have contributed to about 90% of the incremental jobs, indicating a substitution of formal by informal sector employment.
Also read: CPD: Next budget should stress health, social safety
Although people could find employment, they are working for a lower number of hours, on average, particularly in the agriculture sector, followed by the industry sector.
The average monthly income of individuals eroded by 11.3%. The decline in income has pushed a significant number of people into lower-income groups – indicating a higher poverty incidence. At the same time income inequality increased.
More than 40% of the employed population reported that their employment situation was worse than the pre-COVID-19 period.
India's virus surge damages Modi's image of competence
India’s hospitals were packed with coronavirus patients, relatives of the sick scrambled to find supplies of oxygen, and crematoriums were running near full capacity to handle the dead.
Yet despite those clear signs of an overwhelming health crisis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pressed ahead with a densely packed campaign rally.
“I have never seen such a huge crowd before!” he roared to his supporters in West Bengal state on April 17, before key local elections. “Wherever I can see, I can only see people. I can see nothing else.”
As another deadly wave of COVID-19 infections was swamping India, Modi's government refused to cancel a giant Hindu festival. Cricket matches, attended by tens of thousands, carried on, too.
The catastrophic surge has badly dented Modi’s political image after he drew praise last year for moving quickly to lock down India’s nearly 1.4 billion people. Now, he’s been called a “super-spreader” by the vice president of the Indian Medical Association, Dr. Navjot Dahiya.
With deaths mounting and a touted vaccine rollout faltering badly, Modi has pushed much of the responsibility for fighting the virus onto poorly equipped and unprepared state governments and even onto patients themselves, critics say.
“It is a crime against humanity,” author and activist Arundhati Roy said of Modi’s handling of the virus. “Foreign governments are rushing to help. But as long as decision-making remains with Modi, who has shown himself to be incapable of working with experts or looking beyond securing narrow political gain, it will be like pouring aid into a sieve.”
The 70-year-old, whose image as a technocrat brought him deep approval from a middle class weary of corruption and bureaucratic dysfunction, has been accused of stifling dissent and choosing politics over public health.
When the official COVID-19 death toll crossed 200,000 — a number experts say is a severe undercount — Modi was silent.
His government says it is on a “war footing,” ramping up hospital capacity, supplies of oxygen and drugs.
“The present COVID pandemic is a once-in-a-century crisis,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar told The Associated Press. “All efforts are being made to overcome the situation by the central government in close coordination with the state governments and society at large.”
When Modi won national elections in 2014, he presented himself as someone who could unlock economic growth by merging business-friendly policies with a Hindu nationalist ideology.
Critics saw him as craving power over the national welfare and catering to his Hindu nationalist base. They blamed him — although courts exonerated him — in the bloody 2002 anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat state, where he was chief minister.
The economy tumbled after his government overhauled India’s cash supply and introduced a goods and services tax. Yet, he easily won reelection in 2019 on a wave of nationalism following clashes with archrival Pakistan.
Despite a second term marred by a souring economy, widening social strife, and deadly clashes with neighboring China, “Modi has proven to be incredibly politically resilient,” said Milan Vaishnav, director of the South Asia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
When the coronavirus hit, Vaishnav said Modi took an approach different from former President Donald Trump and current Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
“He never called the virus a hoax. He took it seriously. He encouraged mask-wearing, social distancing. He encouraged the sorts of things health authorities everywhere have been calling for,” he added.
The strict lockdown, imposed on four hours’ notice, stranded tens of millions of migrant workers who were left jobless and fled to villages with many dying along the way. But experts say the decision helped contain the virus and bought time for the government.
Cases rose when the country started reopening in June 2020, and the government developed emergency infrastructure plans. When the wave receded and reported cases plummeted over the winter, many officials saw it as a triumph. States dismantled makeshift hospitals and delayed adding ICU beds and ventilators.
The government had sought to create 162 oxygen plants earlier, but has only built 38. It says 105 more will be built this month.
The fragile health care system was not upgraded enough, said Gautam Menon, a science professor at Ashoka University, “and with the current surge, we’re seeing precisely the consequences of not doing this.”
When cases ebbed in January, Modi crowed about India’s success, telling the World Economic Forum that the country “has saved humanity from a big disaster by containing corona effectively.”
His ruling Bharatiya Janata Party hailed his “visionary leadership,” making India a “proud and victorious nation in the fight against COVID.”
In mid-March, tens of thousands attended cricket matches against England at Narendra Modi stadium in Gujarat, an event that swelled national pride even amid warnings that infections were climbing.
On March 21, advertisements on the front pages of newspapers read, “Beautiful Clean Safe,” as Modi and a political ally welcomed Hindu devotees to the Kumbh Mela, a pilgrimage to the Ganges River that drew millions throughout April.
By contrast, in March 2020, his government blamed a Muslim gathering of 3,000 for an initial spike in infections in a move that triggered violence and boycotts, even as courts dismissed the accusations.
Critics have blasted the BJP for holding election rallies packed with tens of thousands of unmasked supporters, particularly in West Bengal. Other parties also campaigned to large crowds. Bowing to criticism, Modi began appearing over video instead of live, but the crowds remained.
Though his party was defeated in the state, analysts say he still enjoys popularity nationwide.
Meanwhile, India’s vaccination campaign begun in January has sputtered amid perceptions the virus was defeated. Only 10% of the population has received one shot and fewer than 2% have gotten both since it began in January.
The latest effort to inoculate those between 18 and 44 has been left to states and the private sector — an approach that critics say will make it easier for the government to pass blame when problems arise. Already, several states have said they don’t have enough vaccine to even start.
The surge has sparked assistance from overseas, a reversal of India’s earlier success at “vaccine diplomacy” when it exported 64 million doses. Some say Modi’s flagship self-sufficiency campaign, known as “Make in India,” is being undermined.
“India has long sought to project itself as a strong nation that need not be dependent on any other. Its immediate need for international assistance flies in the face of that image,” said Michael Kugelman of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Wilson Center.
Some Modi supporters are lashing out. When BJP lawmaker Kesar Singh Gangwar died of the virus in Uttar Pradesh state, his son said Modi’s office didn't help.
“What kind of government is this? What kind of PM is Modi?” said Vishal Gangwar. “If he cannot provide treatment to a lawmaker of his own party, what is happening to a common man is anybody’s guess.”
To circumvent such criticism, the government ordered Twitter to remove posts criticizing his pandemic response. In BJP-run Uttar Pradesh, authorities recently charged a man over a tweet pleading for oxygen for his dying grandfather, accusing him of “circulating a rumor," as top officials deny widespread oxygen shortages.
“To blame social media or users for either critiquing or begging for help is just — I mean, what are their priorities? To help people or silence criticism?” said digital rights activist Nikhil Pahwa.
The level of urban and middle class anger at Modi is unprecedented, political analyst Vaishnav said, although it is blunted by supporters who believe he can do no wrong.
“He shouldn’t be expected to solve all problems by himself. The government machinery which existed before him, full of corruption, is to blame,” said Sunil Saini, a driver in New Delhi. “My vote will go to Modi the next time too.”
Covid’s daily death toll in Bangladesh falls to 50
Bangladesh recorded 50 more deaths from Covid-19 in 24 hours until Wednesday morning, showing a marked fall in the fatality rate.
With the new death figure, the mortality from the Coronavirus rose to 11,755, according to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The number of Covid deaths came down to 50 after over a month as the country saw 50 deaths on April 1 and it had kept rising since then.
Health authorities recorded 1,742 new cases during the period.
The latest figure pushed up the caseload to 7,67,338.
However, the infection rate fell to 8.59 percent from Tuesday’s 8.71 percent while the fatality rate remained static at 1.53 percent.
The body count soared to over 100 during April 16-19 and on April 25 but the daily fatalities have been falling gradually since then.
In the last 24 hours, 427 labs across the country tested 20,284 samples.
Among the recent deaths, 32 were men while 18 were women.
Besides 3,433 patients recovered from Covid-19 during the last 24 hours, putting the recovery rate at 91.02%.
Also Read: Serum to return money if fails to provide vaccine: Finance Minister
Vaccination Drive
Bangladesh kicked off its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses it purchased from the Serum Institute of India Pvt Ltd.
Bangladesh signed an agreement with Serum for 30 million doses. But a record number of cases in India has made the delivery of the doses uncertain.
The administering of the first dose has remained suspended since April 26, and no one in the country has received the second dose in the last 48 hours.
However, DGHS DG Prof ABM Khurshid Alam assured that Bangladesh will get 2.1 million doses of vaccines by early May.
In the last 24 hours, 38 people have received the first dose and 83,540 have received the second dose of Covid vaccine, a figure which is exactly the same of yesterday, according to the DGHS handout.
So far, a total of 72,48,829 people received vaccines where 31,06709 people managed to complete their second dose.
Also Read: Covid vaccine stock running out: DGHS
Vaccine stock dwindling
The DGHS on Wednesday said the stock of the Covid-19 vaccine is running out in Bangladesh as there are only 14 lakh jabs in government hands with no sign in sight to get a fresh consignment of it from India.
Speaking at a virtual press briefing, DGHS spokesperson Dr Robed Amin said, “We had around one crore and two lakh vaccines in our hands…around 88 lakh jabs have already been administered as the first and second doses. Now we’ve some 14 lakh doses in stock.”
He said there will be a vaccine crisis if a fresh consignment does not arrive in the country before the existing stock is exhausted.
Also Read: New variant may be behind Covid surge in Bangladesh: Experts
Drive intensified to get vaccines from US
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Wednesday said the government has intensified its efforts to have vaccine jabs from the United States (US) as it will share up to 60 million doses of its Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine with other countries.
Lockdown extended
The government has issued a notification extending the ongoing lockdown until May 16 with six fresh directives alongside the existing ones to contain the spread of Covid-19.
According to the notification issued by the Cabinet Division, the officials of all government, semi-government autonomous and private organisations, banks and financial institutions have been asked to remain at their respective workstations during the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr holidays.
Shops and shopping malls will remain open from 10 am to 8 pm maintaining health guidelines. If any kind of deviation and violation are seen, the shopping malls and shops will be closed instantly, says the notification.
Inter-district transport services will remain closed while only intra-district transport services will operate ensuring health guidelines from Thursday.
However, launch and train services will remain off.
Extended lockdown extends daily bottlenecks for commuters
Bangladesh has entered the third week of lockdown in its effort to put a leash on the surge of Covid-19's second wave.
The deadliest month of pandemic, April, has just passed recording 21% of the total deaths since the outbreak last year.
The onslaught hasn’t stopped yet, as 61 more deaths were logged today.
With the lockdown imposed and extended, all the public transport services remained restricted across the city.
Distressed by the decision, Dhaka dwellers were seen resorting to sharing autorickshaw fares with other passengers, even more than usual, to reach their destination.
However this situation brought the drivers an opportunity to demand extra fares from the passengers.
A UNB photographer has captured these photos of troubled passengers defying health rules, from city’s Notun Bazar, Nodda area today.
No specific allocation for low-income people, bemoans BNP
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Tuesday said though the lowly-paid workers and day-labourers have been the worst victims of the pandemic, the government has not yet made any specific allocation for them.
Speaking at a virtual discussion, he also alleged that pro-ruling party people are mainly taking benefits of the stimulus packages announced by the government for the pandemic victims.
“We’ve repeatedly said the government should help mainly those who live from hand to mouth and those who work in the informal and SME sectors during the corona period. Our poor brothers and sisters have been suffering most since the outbreak of the pandemic, but there’s no allocation for them in the packages announced by the government. There’s no specific allocation for them,” Fakhrul said.
He said their party proposed providing each affected worker with a one-time incentive of at least Tk 15,000 for three months, but the government did not pay heed to it. "Government officials and the cohorts of Awami League are taking away all the incentives that have been announced for owners.”
Also read: Govt doing business in Covid’s name: BNP
Jatityatabadi Sramik Dal, the workers’ wing of BNP, arranged the virtual programme marking its 42nd founding anniversary and historic May Day.
Fakhrul criticised the government for extending the lockdown without taking any step to mitigate the sufferings of the poor, workers and the day-labourers.
“The government has enforced the lockdown without taking any step for easing the sufferings of the day-labourers and other lowly-paid workers and the poor. They did it to make their political gains by carrying out crackdowns in the name of the lockdown.”
The BNP leader said the government has been arresting the leaders and activists of different Islamic and student organisations taking advantage of the lockdown. “They (govt) are arresting those who speak against them. The entire nation has become hostage to them.”
He urged the young generation and the workers to get united and play a leading role in a movement for establishing a pro-people government and people’s basic rights.
Also read: Engaging single organisation in buying vaccines a ‘suicidal’ move: BNP
Khaleda’s condition
About the health condition of their party chairperson Khaleda Zia, Fakhrul said she was moved to the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) of the Evercare Hospital on Monday due to the shortness of breath.
“She’s is still in the CCU, and she’s being given oxygen. Her condition is now stable,” he said.
Fakhrul said doctors are hopeful that Khaleda will recover soon. He urged all to pray for her speedy recovery.
Khaleda, tested positive for Covid-19 for the second time on April 24, was admitted to Evercare Hospital on April 27 for a thorough health checkup.
On April 28, a 10-member medical board, headed by Prof Shahabuddin Talukder, was formed for the treatment of Khaleda at the Evercare Hospital a day after her admission there.
Khaleda Zia tested positive for Covid-19 on April 10 as eight people at her residence were infected with the virus. She underwent the second Covid-19 test on April 24 and her report was positive.
Covid claims 61 more lives, infects 1,914 others in Bangladesh
Bangladesh logged 61 more coronavirus-related deaths and 1,914 new cases in 24 hours until Tuesday morning, showing a slight downtrend in daily fatalities and an uptick in infections.
The latest figures pushed up the death toll to 11,705 and the caseload to 7,65,596, according to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
However, the infection rate fell to 8.71 percent from Monday’s 8.95 percent while the fatality rate rose to 1.53 percent.
Bangladesh has recorded less than 70 virus related deaths since Friday. The body count soared to over 100 during April 16-19 and on April 25 but since then the daily fatalities have been falling gradually.
Bangladesh has so far tested 55,40,394 samples, 21,984 in the last 24 hours, according to DGHS handout data, provided this morning.
There has been a steady decline in tests between April 28 and May 2, leading to fewer case counts. New cases declined between April 26 (3,306) and May 2 (1,359) before an upward curve in the next two following days.
So far, 90.78 percent of the total patients (6,95,032) have recovered, including 3,870 new ones. The recovery number has been on the wane between April 28 and May 2 and picked up again from Monday.
Also read: Covid-19 in Bangladesh: Around 21 pc of total deaths reported in April alone
Bangladesh reported its first cases on March 8 last year, before confirming the first death 10 days later.
21% of total deaths in April
April has been the worst month for Bangladesh with 2,404 fatalities, accounting for 20.99 percent of the total death toll, and 147,837 new cases, according to DGHS.
In Bangladesh, 568 coronavirus-related deaths were reported in January, 281 in February and 638 in March.
Dhaka division saw most of the deaths – 6,812 or 58.20 percent – of the total fatalities.
Twenty-eight of the 61 deaths reported today are from Dhaka division and 18 from Chattogram division.
Lockdown continues till May 16
The ongoing lockdown imposed on April 5 has been extended until May 16 but people are hardly following health safety rules.
Also read: Lockdown to continue until May 16, intra-district public transport services from May 6
They are still crowding shopping malls and markets ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, the biggest religious festival of the Muslims. Photos and videos shot by UNB correspondents show overcrowded shopping places and total indifference towards health guidelines.
There will hardly be any positive outcome if the people don’t follow health rules to protect themselves and others around them from coronavirus.
Meanwhile, intra-district public transport services will be allowed to resume from May 6.
Vaccination drive
Bangladesh kicked off its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses it purchased from the Serum Institute of India Pvt Ltd.
Bangladesh signed an agreement with Serum for 30 million doses. But a record number of cases in India has made the delivery of the doses uncertain.
The administering of the first dose was announced of remaining suspended from April 26.
Also read: Vaccines to be procured at any expense, says PM Hasina
DGHS DG Prof ABM Khurshid Alam had assured that Bangladesh will get 2.1 million doses of vaccine by the first week of May.
In the last 24 hours, 38 people have received the first dose and 83,540 have received the second dose of Covid vaccine, said the DGHS handout.
The registration process for receiving the vaccine jab remains shut.
Vaccine production
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on April 28 approved in principle a proposal for producing Russian and Chinese Covid-19 vaccines in Bangladesh.
The government on April 29 approved the emergency use of Sinopharm, a Chinese Covid-19 vaccine, a day after approving the emergency use of Sputnik V vaccine of Russia.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Tuesday said the Chinese government is working to start delivering Covid-19 vaccine doses before Eid-ul-Fitr although a 5-day May Day holiday is underway in China.
Also read: Dhaka hopeful of getting vaccine doses from China before Eid
Meanwhile Health Minister Zahid Maleque shared a more specific date – May 10.
Incepta Pharmaceuticals, Popular Pharma and Health Care Pharma have the capacity of producing vaccines, and the Chinese vaccine could be produced locally, Director General of DGDA Mahbubur Rahman told reporters.
On April 28, Dr Shahida Aktar, additional secretary of the Cabinet Division noted that the government will purchase vaccine technology from Russian and China through direct procurement method (DPM).
COVID-19: Bidyanondo stands beside transgender community with foods
Although the ongoing second wave of the global pandemic of COVID-19 has put a halt to the livelihoods of many communities, Bidyanondo Foundation, known for taking initiatives to serve the marginalised people in the country, stood beside the transgender community through its latest relief initiative in the capital.
The humanitarian organization distributed food packages to a number of people from the marginalised community in Savar on Sunday.
Earlier, it served transgender people food items across different areas in the capital including Vatara, Merul Badda, TSC area of Dhaka University, Mugda and other places on Friday.
Bidyanondo informed UNB that the distribution was initiated upon the request of social activist, media personality and country's first-ever transgender news anchor Tashnuva Anan.