Coronavirus lockdown
Biman to operate domestic flights from July 15 to July 22
National flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines will operate flights in all internal routes from July 15 to 22.
The national airlines service announced the decision through a media release Tuesday, followed by the cabinet division’s notification on lifting lockdown restrictions from July 14 midnight to the morning of July 23.
During the period, Biman’s three flights to Chattogram and Syedpur, two each to Cox’s Bazar, Jashore, Sylhet and one each to Rajshahi and Barishal will fly from Dhaka.
Also read: Bangladesh eases lockdown restrictions ahead of Eid
The passengers can buy tickets for the flights from any travel agency approved by Biman sales office or Biman’s website, mobile apps making payments through bkash, Rocket, Vissa, Mastercard or AMEX card.
However, strict restrictions will resume from July 23 and will continue until Aug. 5, as per the order.
Earlier on Monday, it was reported that Bangladesh Railway is going to restore its passenger train services for eight days from July 15-22 across the country, keeping 50% of the seats empty apparently to facilitate the movement of people during the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha.
Also read: Stringent lockdown: Biman's domestic flights suspended till July 7
Public transport services and business institutions will also be allowed to function.
Eid-ul-Azha will be celebrated on July 21 amid the Delta variant of Covid-19 wreaking havoc across the country, shattering records every day.
A record rise in the number of Covid cases and fatalities in recent days prompted the government to enforce a nationwide stringent lockdown suspending all outdoor activities unless there's an emergency.
Covid claims 203 more lives in Bangladesh, another 12,198 infected
Struggling with Covid-19’s grim second wave, Bangladesh lost 203 more lives to the deadly virus, while another 12,198 people contracted it in24 hours till Tuesday morning.
The new numbers took the country’s death tally to 16,842 and the caseload to 10,47,155, according to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The fresh cases were detected after testing 41,755 samples during the period, pushing up the case positivity rate to 29.21%.
According to the DGHS, 2,339 people lost the battle to Covid-19 and 125,596 more got infected as of July13.
However, the case fatality rate remained unchanged at 1.61% during the 24-hour period.
The country saw a record number of 13,768 Covid cases on Monday and the highest-ever 230 deaths on Sunday.
Also read: Bangladesh eases lockdown restrictions ahead of Eid
So far, 889,167 people have recovered from the disease, taking the country’s recovery rate to 84.91%, which is on the decline compared to other indicators.
Of the latest deaths, 61 were reported in Dhaka, 53 in Khulna, and 30 in Chattogram divisions and 27 in Rajshahi. Besides, 15 people died in Rangpur, seven in Mymensingh and five each in Barishal and Sylhet divisions.
The country saw 2,404 Covid deaths in April, 1,169 in May and 1,884 in June, making those the most fatal months of this year. Also, July was the most fatal month in 2020, reporting 1,264 deaths followed by 1,197 deaths in June that year.
Lockdown eased
The government has decided to ease all lockdown restrictions in the country for eight days ahead of Eid ul Azha.
In a notification on Tuesday morning, the cabinet division said that the lockdown restrictions will be lifted from July 14 midnight to the morning of July 23.
However, strict restrictions will resume from July 23 and will continue till August 5, as per the order.
Also read: FM reassures on adequate vaccine supply from multiple sources
Earlier on Monday, it was reported that Bangladesh Railway is going to restore its passenger train services for eight days from July 15-22 across the country, keeping 50% of the seats empty apparently to facilitate the movement of people during the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha.
Public transport services and business institutions will also be allowed to function.
Eid-ul-Azha will be celebrated on July 21 amid the Delta variant of Covid-19 wreaking havoc across the country, shattering records every day.
A record rise in the number of Covid cases and fatalities in recent days prompted the government to enforce a nationwide stringent lockdown suspending all outdoor activities unless there is an emergency.
Army Chief distributes food aid among 5,000 destitute people
Army Chief General S M Shafiuddin Ahmed on Wednesday distributed essential food items among 5000 jobless and destitute people at Khulna stadium.
The assistance was a part of Bangladesh Army program, "Operation Covid Sheild-Phase-2”, undertaken to mitigate the economic hardship of people during the coronavirus lockdown.
Read:Khulna division records its highest deaths in a day due to Covid
The beneficiaries received five kgs of rice, three kgs of pulses, three kgs of flour, three kgs of potatoes, two kgs of sugar, two liters of edible oil and one kg of salt each.
The army chief called upon all to work in a united way in tackling the pandemic.
Nurul Anwar, Khulna divisional commissioner and high ranking military and civil officials, among others, were present on the occasion.
Read: New army chief SM Shafiuddin adorned with rank badge of General
Army personnel of the 55 Army Infantry Division have been deployed in Khulna division and 11 districts of Dhaka division to coordinate relief distribution programmes, operate medical teams and patrol alongside the civil administration since July 1, the beginning of nationwide stringent lockdown.
Bangladesh eases lockdown restrictions ahead of Eid
The Bangladesh government has decided to ease all lockdown restrictions in the country for eight days ahead of Eid ul Azha.
In a notification on Tuesday morning, the cabinet division said that the lockdown restrictions will be lifted from July 14 midnight to the morning of July 23.
Read: Bangladesh ready to go into 'strict lockdown' from Monday
However, strict restrictions will resume from July 23 and will continue till August 5, as per the order.
Earlier on Monday, it was reported that Bangladesh Railway is going to restore its passenger train services for eight days from July 15-22 across the country, keeping 50% of the seats empty apparently to facilitate the movement of people during the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha.
Read: Bangladesh extends lockdown until June 6
Public transport services and business institutions will also be allowed to function.
Eid-ul-Azha will be celebrated on July 21 amid the Delta variant of Covid-19 wreaking havoc across the country, shattering records everyday.
Read: Breaching Lockdown: 585 arrested, Tk 8.9 lakh realised in fines
A record rise in the number of Covid cases and fatalities in recent days prompted the government to enforce a nationwide stringent lockdown suspending all outdoor activities unless there's an emergency.
Lockdown Breaches: 708 arrested, Tk 5.5 lakh fined on day 11
Police arrested 708 people and fined Tk 5,52,500 from vehicles in the capital for lockdown breaches on the eleventh day, Sunday.
The arrestees were out on the streets violating restrictions, said DMP Additional Deputy Commissioner (media) Iftekharul Islam.
Meanwhile, mobile courts collected Tk 5,38,680 as fines from 184 people.
Also read: Breaching Lockdown: 585 arrested, Tk 8.9 lakh realised in fines
During this time, the Traffic Division collected Tk 5,52,500 as penalties from 244 vehicles for failing to comply with coronavirus lockdown restrictions.
Bangladesh is currently under a 14-day lockdown imposed to tame an alarming surge in the Covid infections across the country.
Also read: Lockdown Breaches: 1077 arrested as more people defy restrictions
Started on July 1 the nationwide strict lockdown will continue till July 14 midnight.
Meanwhile, both Covid cases and fatalities continue to hit new records.
Auto-rickshaw workers seek PM’s intervention to overcome their hardships
Auto-rickshaw and light vehicle drivers have demanded that the government provides them emergency food and cash support to their families facing serious hardships due to nationwide 'strict nationwide lockdown'.
In a statement on Saturday, Abul Hossain and Golam Faruk, President and General Secretary of the Bangladesh Auto-Rickshaw Light Vehicle Transport Workers Federation (BALTWF) respectively, said the lockdown has left them without any work and earning.
Also read: Auto-rickshaw, light vehicles workers demand food, cash support amid 'lockdown'
The BALTF leaders said they have already made appeals to different concerned government offices seeking cash and food support for the unemployed and unfed workers.
“Even, we made our appeals through a press conference on June 28 in the city”, the BALTWF leaders said.
Also read: Auto-rickshaw drivers, light vehicle workers demand food support
Transport workers are mainly day labourers. Their income has now totally stopped. “The transport workers feel that hunger is more critical for their lives than the Coronavirus.”
“We need livelihoods to save our lives. That’s why we seek Prime Minister’s intervention to ensure cash and food support for the transport workers”, said the BALTWF statement.
Bangladesh in grip of Covid’s wave; sees record 212 deaths
Bangladesh on Friday saw 212 Covid-19 deaths, the highest number since the pandemic hit the country, amid a strict nationwide lockdown in effect since July 1.
Also, Covid-19 infections in the country are at their peak now, with 9,665 new cases reported each day – the highest daily average.
The country recorded 11,324 infections in 24 hours till Friday morning after testing 36,850 samples.
Bangladesh reported its highest daily Covid-19 fatality of 201 on Wednesday and 11, 651 cases on Thursday.
The country is in the grip of a second wave of the coronavirus that is threatening to overwhelm its health service.
Also read: Dhaka reemerging as Covid hotspot as battle plan ‘fails’: Experts
There have been 1,000,543 infections and 16,004 coronavirus-related deaths in Bangladesh since the pandemic began, according to the Directorate General of Health Services.
However, the test positivity rate dropped to 14.49%. The daily positivity rate of 31.62% on Thursday raised concerns among experts as the World Health Organization recommended a 5% or below rate.
Meanwhile, the death rate remains unchanged at 1.60%, and the recovery rate dropped to 86.19%.
Khulna division reported the highest 79 deaths, Dhaka 53, Chattogram 26, Rajshahi 23, Rangpur 12, Mymensingh eight, Sylhet six and Barishal five.
Also read: Global Covid cases top 185 million
Hospitals are now overwhelmed with patients and struggling to cope as the country is experiencing a devastating second wave of Covid infections, driven by the Delta variant.
The Prime Minister's Office on Thursday directed the authorities concerned to increase oxygen supply and corona beds in hospitals across the country to ensure the treatment of Covid-19 patients.
So far, Bangladesh has administered at least 10,114,578 doses of Covid vaccines – enough to have vaccinated around 3.1% of the country's population, assuming every person needs two doses.
Covid nightmare in Bangladesh: Daily-death toll crosses 200
In a disastrous turn, Bangladesh recorded 201 deaths in 24 hours until Wednesday morning, its highest-ever single-day fatalities.
The first seven days of July have been the deadliest ones in the current pandemic, with the country registering 1,090 deaths during the period as it is struggling with a catastrophic second wave of the virus.
Besides, the country logged 11,162 new cases as the case positivity rate declined slightly to 31.32 % from Tuesday’s 31.46%.
The new numbers took Bangladesh’s death toll to 15, 593 while the caseload to 977,568. The fresh coronavirus cases were detected after testing 37,147 samples during the period, according to a handout of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The case fatalities remained unchanged at 1.60% after remaining static at 1.59% for a long time.
Read: Bangladesh hits new grim record with 164 single-day Covid deaths
Bangladesh’s Covid hotspot Khulna continues to be the hardest hit with the district registering the highest number of single-day deaths yet again, 66. Dhaka followed Khulna with 58 deaths during this time.
Besides, 21 people died in Chattogram division, 18 in Rajshahi, 14 in Rangpur, nine in Sylhet, eight in Mymensingh and seven in Barishal divisions.
So far, 850,502 people have recovered from the disease putting the recovery rate at 87%, which is declining unlike other indicators.
Among Wednesday’s 201 deceased, 119 were men and 82 were women.
Of them, 1 belonged to the age group of 11-20, four were within 21-30, nine between 31-40, 25 between 41-50, 47 between 51-60 and 115 were above 60 years old.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Wednesday said Bangladesh is hopeful of receiving more vaccine doses this month from Japan, the European Union (EU) and the USA under COVAX facility apart from a steady flow of that from China.
Read: Covid getting deadlier in Bangladesh; record-high 153 die in 24 hours
“We’re in a good position now. I should say we’ve made a line up. I think there’ll be no vaccine crisis, and the vaccination programme will continue uninterruptedly,” he told a small group of reporters at his residence.
Dr Momen said Bangladesh is expected to get around 2.5 million doses of vaccine from Japan while 1 million from the EU under the COVAX facility. “These’re likely to be AstraZeneca vaccine doses.”
In another positive turn of events, people will now be able to register for Covid-19 vaccine through imo, according to a press release of the popular messaging app.
The move aims to amplify the mass vaccination efforts of the Bangladesh government, said the press release issued on Wednesday.
Registration for Covid vaccination to restart Thursday
Amid the deteriorating coronavirus situation, the government is going to resume the countrywide mass registration for receiving Covid-19 jabs from Thursday (July 8), said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) on Tuesday.
“The registration process will resume for all from Thursday morning,” Prof Dr Mizanur Rahman, Director (MIS) of the DGHS, told UNB.
“Currently, the registration is ongoing only in three categories on a priority basis. As the mass registration process resumes, all the categories will be available for registering through the Surokkha app as before,” he said.
Earlier, on June 30, Dr Shamsul Haque, member secretary of the Vaccine Deployment Committee, also made the same announcement at a virtual press briefing arranged by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
He said the Sinopharm jabs will be administered at 40 centers in Dhaka city and at all district hospitals from 8am to 3pm every day as in the past.
Also read: Bangladesh’s Covid catastrophe worsens; 163 more lives lost
Dr Haque said the vaccine will also be given at Bangladesh Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases (BITID) in Chattogram and Saidpur Sadar Hospital during the same period.
He said those who got registered earlier but could not receive the vaccines will be given the Sinopharm jabs now while the medical and university students and those who are on the priority lists can get registered for the vaccine. “Everyone will get an SMS from a vaccination centre after the registration and all must receive the vaccine at that centre accordingly. “In this case, the vaccine card and NID card must be brought for receiving the vaccine.”
Dr Haque said the Covid vaccination centers will remain out of the purview of the lockdown. “Those who have vaccine cards will be able to go to the relevant centre showing it.”
He said the expatriate workers who stay in countries where the Sinopharm vaccine is accepted also can receive the vaccine at the centers both in Dhaka and outside. “But no one will get the vaccine without registration.”
Also read: Chinese firms working with Bangladeshi partners for vaccine co-production
Besides, Dr Haque said, the Pfizer vaccine will also be administered at seven centers--Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, Salimullah Medical College and Hospital, Mugda Medical College Hospital, Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Kurmitola General Hospital, and Sheikh Russel National Gastroliver Institute and Hospital—in the capital.
He said the outbound expatriate workers who are not allowed to return to their workplaces without getting Pfizer vaccine can only receive the vaccine at the seven centers as per the list from the Manpower Export Promotion Bureau.
Dr Haque said those who are supposed to receive Sinopharm jabs from these centres will have to go to alternative centres.
Bangladesh’s Covid catastrophe worsens; 163 more lives lost
In a disastrous turn, Bangladesh recorded its highest-ever 11,525 cases in 24 hours until Tuesday morning as the case positivity rate hit 31.46%.
During the period, the country lost 163 more lives to Covid-19, according to a handout provided by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
On Monday, Bangladesh saw a record-high 9,964 cases and 164 deaths as both infections and deaths are mounting at an alarming speed.
The new numbers took the country’s death toll to 15, 392 while the caseload to 966,406.
The fresh coronavirus cases were detected after testing 36,631 samples during the period, the DGHS said.
However, the case fatality remained unchanged at 1.59% during the period.
So far, 844,515 people have recovered from the disease putting the recovery rate at 87.39%, which is declining unlike other indicators.
Also read: At 1,865, Khulna records highest single-day Covid cases
Among today’s deceased, 91 were aged above 60, 29 aged between 51-60, 27 were aged between 41-50, 11 aged between 31-40 and five were aged between 21-30, showed the DGHS handout.
Khulna division logged 46 deaths today, while Dhaka saw 45 and Rajshahi and Chattogram 24 each. Besides, 11 died in Rangpur, six in Barishal, five in Rangpur and two in Mymensingh divisions.