Coronavirus lockdown
Govt allows public transport to operate during lockdown
The government has decided to allow public transport services to resume operations in city corporation areas from Wednesday as the country passes a weeklong lockdown enforced to curb Coronavirus transmission.
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Tuesday said they would be allowed to operate between 6am and 6pm.
Public transport services will operate in Dhaka, Chattogram, Gazipur, Narayanganj, Cumilla, Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet, Barishal, Rangpur and Mymensigh city corporation areas.
Also read: Lockdown in Bangladesh enters day 2 amid public apathy
But they will have to leave half the seats empty, the minister said in a press statement.
All long distance public transport services will remain suspended until further instructions from the government.
At the start and end of every trip, all buses must be sanitised, the minister said.
Also read: Experts find lockdown in Bangladesh “unscientific, halfhearted”
Staff and passengers must wear face masks and use hand sanitiser, the Road Transport and Bridge minister added.
Quader warned that taking any extra fare from the passengers than the adjusted one won’t be allowed.
He said this order will be effective from April 7.
Leaving before Lockdown
A large number of homebound people were seen gathering at railway station and bus terminals as the government announced 7-day countrywide lockdown from Monday.
Commuters fearing suspension of public transport crowding at the bus and launch terminals amid the risk of Coronavirus transmission.
Excessive pressure transports was seen on the highway causing long tailbacks.
Bangladesh set to enforce nationwide lockdown Monday amid Covid surge
The government is set to impose a nationwide lockdown for a week from Monday morning as part of its tougher move to slow down the rapid spike in both coronavirus infection and mortality rates.
The main objective of the lockdown is to control unnecessary public movements and gatherings with stronger monitoring by the members of law enforcement agencies and thus contain the virus transmission.
It will be the first official lockdown in Bangladesh to tackle the deadly coronavirus. On March 26 last year, the government had declared general holidays along with a transport shutdown instead of enforcing lockdown as the country was witnessing the surge in coronavirus transmission.
As the country has been experiencing record-breaking Covid cases for the past few days, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Sunday announced to impose a weeklong countrywide lockdown.
Most offices and factories will remain open during the period, but the employees will work in shifts maintaining health safety rules and government guidelines.
Also read: Restriction on gatherings, quarantine rule among PMO’s 18-point directive to contain Covid surge
Earlier, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) issued an 18-point directive on March 29 to prevent the transmission of the virus.
Restrictions on movement/activities
The Cabinet Division on Sunday issued a gazette notification imposing restrictions on the movement of people and other activities for seven days in a bid to improve the situation and enforce the lockdown.
The gazette will remain effective from 6 am on April 5 till 12 am on April 11.
According to the gazette, all modes of public transport (road, river, rail and domestic flights) will remain suspended during the period.
No domestic flight operations during lockdown: CAAB
The flight operations on domestic routes will remain suspended immediately after enforcement of lockdown, said Air-Vice Marshal M Mofidur Rahman, chairman of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) on Saturday.
However, flights on international routes will operate as usual until further notice, he told UNB.
He said a notice regarding suspension of domestic flights will be issued after the official announcement of lockdown.
Also read: Govt to enforce 7-day lockdown from Monday: Quader
Earlier today Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said that the government is set to impose a seven-day lockdown from Monday to curb the spread of coronavirus.
Meanwhile State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain also stated that the announcement of a countrywide seven-day lockdown would come within two or three days.
However, industries or essential services will remain out of the purview of lockdown, said both the ministers.
Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh sees 5,638 cases, 58 more deaths
Covid-19 in Bangladesh
The number of Covid-19 cases continues to rise as 5,683 people tested positive in the last 24 hours until Saturday morning.
Besides, the death toll from the novel coronavirus climbed to 9,213 in Bangladesh after 58 more deaths during the period.
Govt to enforce 7-day lockdown from Monday: Quader
The government is set to announce a seven-day lockdown from Monday to stem the spread of coronavirus, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said Saturday.
In a media briefing at his residence, the Awami League general secretary urged the people to properly follow health guidelines to protect themselves from Covid-19.
“People must wear face masks and follow health guidelines amid a surge in coronavirus cases and deaths,” he said.
Bangladesh recorded over 6,000 new coronavirus cases for the second consecutive day on Friday (6,830). It was the fourth time in five days that the country reported its highest daily cases as the infection rate rose to 23.28 percent.
Quader said the government has already taken necessary preparation to tackle the second wave of Covid-19. “But many people are showing reluctance to maintain health rules, which may worsen the Covid-19 situation,” he warned.
Also read: Bangladesh records 6,000+ cases for 2nd straight day
Liberation War Museum reopens for public after nine months
The Liberation War Museum (LWM) has reopened its doors to general visitors from Friday at its permanent venue located in Agargaon in the capital following health directives, after being closed for the past nine months.
Almost no place has been spared — and no one.
The virus that first emerged a year ago in Wuhan, China, swept across the world in 2020, leaving havoc in its wake. More than any event in memory, the pandemic has been a global event. On every continent, households have felt its devastation — joblessness and lockdowns, infirmity and death. And an abiding, relentless fear.
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Vendors broke out in applause in the flagship Galeries Lafayette department store in Paris as eager shoppers returned for the first time in a month, after yet another virus lockdown.
Not heading back into lockdown: Quader
Transport Minister Obaidul Quader has ruled out the possibility of a full-scale lockdown in Bangladesh as the country is taking all-out preparations to face a possible second wave of Covid-19 infections.
4-week coronavirus lockdown may have to last longer: UK
A new national lockdown in England may have to last longer than the planned four weeks if coronavirus infection rates don’t fall quickly enough, a senior government minister said Sunday.