Covid-19 lockdown
Lockdown in Bangladesh enters day 2 amid public apathy
The weeklong lockdown in Bangladesh entered the second day on Tuesday with a growing public apathy to it as a large number of private vehicles, rickshaws and auto-rickshaws started plying the city streets and people moving freely ignoring the risks of Covid-19 transmission.
However, public transports went off the roads while shops remained shut in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country.
Also Read: Experts find lockdown in Bangladesh “unscientific, halfhearted”
Office-goers endured sufferings to reach their destinations as they did the previous day.
Alongside private cars, rickshaws and auto-rickshaws, microbus and CNG-run auto-rickshaws and many ride-sharing services were seen operating in the capital as usual.
Shopping malls are closed as per the government instruction but shops were seen open in many areas.
Visiting many city areas, the UNB correspondent found shops in lanes and by-lanes open despite the lockdown.
Members of law enforcement agencies were seen at many points providing masks to those moving without masks ignoring the health guidelines.
Also Read: Homebound people flock at launch and bus terminals dreadin...
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has taken the initiative to distribute masks to raise awareness among people, said Iftekharul Islam, additional deputy commissioner of police (media).
The points include Jatrabari intersection, Kaptan Bazar, Shapla Chattar, Uttar Badda Bazar and Khalpar areas of the city.
Experts find lockdown in Bangladesh “unscientific, halfhearted”
Though a nationwide lockdown has been enforced in Bangladesh for one week with a high hope to limit the spread of deadly Coronavirus, health experts think that this ‘unscientific and halfhearted’ lockdown is unlikely to yield any positive result.
They said the widespread movement of people, demonstrations and public gatherings at kitchen markets and other places on the first day of lockdown have exhibited that people did not take this “partial” shutdown seriously since offices, factories and Amar Ekushey Book Fair are open.
Also Read: Ekushey Book Fair to remain open from 12 to 5pm amid
The experts suggested enforcing a complete lockdown for 14 days shutting down all the offices, mills, factories, book fair and businesses, except those engaged in emergency services, and enforcing it strictly by involving public representatives to break the Covid transmission cycle.
A nationwide lockdown for a week was enforced on Monday morning as part of a move to slow down the rapid spike in both coronavirus infection and mortality rates.
It is the first official lockdown in Bangladesh to tamp the virus. 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.
Also Read: Lockdown Day 1: Protests held, health rules, govt directives not followed
‘Halfhearted’ lockdown unproductive
Talking to UNB, Prof Muzaherul Huq, a former adviser to WHO South-East Asia region, said: “We can't call it a lockdown since the government has kept mills, factories, offices and even the book fair open. This is not the scientific way to restrict public movement.”
He said lockdown means controlling the movement of people completely. “Lockdown means everything will be closed. Only some important emergency services, drugstores and certain markets from where people can buy food can remain open.”
Muzaherul said the seven-day restriction enforced by the government does not match with the principle and definition of lockdown. “It’s an unscientific, unplanned and halfhearted lockdown. It won’t help the nation get success in containing the virus transmission.”
Noted virologist Prof Nazrul Islam, also a member of the National Technical Advisory Committee, said lockdown is a universally accepted system to control the movement of people by shutting down everything, except emergency services.
He said it seems the government enforced a partial lockdown keeping many things open. “A partial lockdown can be enforced in any particular area, not across the country. It’ll be only waste of energy, loss of money. The desired goal can’t be achieved with it.”
Also Read: Homebound people flock at launch and bus terminals dreading lockdown
Prof Nazrul said people did not take the lockdown seriously as there is no strong monitoring and enforcement of laws to implement the lockdown.
Lockdown should be 14 days
Public health expert MH Chowdhury (Lenin), chairman of the medicine department at the Health and Hope Hospital, said a complete lockdown should be enforced for at least 14 days to slow down the virus transmission.
“Two weeks are an incubation period for coronavirus in human bodies. So, the virus transmission cycle can’t be broken with a seven-day lockdown,” he said.
Lenin said people violated the restriction enforced by the government for seven days on the very first day as there is no seriousness among them about the shutdown.
Also Read: Govt set to enforce 7-day lockdown from Monday
“I think the government should immediately work out effective plans to enforce a strict lockdown. Law enforcers should enhance their monitoring so that no one can come out of home without any genuine need. A situation should be created so that people don’t dare to go outside unnecessarily. Or else, we can’t achieve anything from the relaxed lockdown.”
Engaging public representatives
Prof Nazrul Islam said it is not possible for the law enforcement agencies alone to implement the lockdown without the cooperation and involvement of people at every level, especially the public representatives. “But the government has not taken any step to engage public representatives to enforce the lockdown.”
He said a monitoring team should be formed at every locality to enforce the lockdown and stop the unnecessary public movement.
Prof Nazrul Islam said the government should come up with directives about how the local public representatives and administration can stand by poor people being hit hard by the shutdown. “People will come out if there’s no food at their homes.”
Besides, the expert said, there should be a clear directive as to how people will buy food and necessary items amid the lockdown maintaining health safety rules.
“Big blunder”
Dr Abu Jamil Faisel, a member of the public health expert team formed for the eight divisions, said the government made a blunder by allowing people to leave Dhaka before the lockdown. “Many people carrying the virus went to different places before the lockdown which will only help the virus spread fast across the country.”
He said the lockdown was declared for not allowing people to go to their village homes. “It’s enforced to keep people where they’re staying so that the virus can’t spread.”
The expert said the government should have stopped the transport services before announcing the lockdown decision. “People would not have been able to leave Dhaka had the government done it.”
Reinforcing lockdown
Dr Faisel said the government issued an 18-point directive before enforcing the lockdown. “There was a plan to implement the directives through coordinated efforts by 10 ministries, but that didn’t happen, and it ultimately forced the government to take a decision about the lockdown.”
He said the government enforced the lockdown hurriedly without working out necessary plans to implement it. “There’s still a chance to reinforce the lockdown taking some corrective measures.”
“What’s the justification of enforcing a lockdown by keeping everything -- expect shops and malls and transports -- open? The book fair is open for no reason. This fair should be stopped right now. If necessary, it can be run virtually. Public movement can’t be controlled by keeping the fair and offices open,” the expert added.
Global Covid cases surpass 131.6 million
The global number of confirmed Covid -19 cases surpassed 131.6 million on Tuesday, while fatalities topped 2.8 million, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
To be specific, the total case count currently stands at 131,696,594 and the death toll at 2,859,357, as per the university tally.
Also Read: Global Covid cases hit 130.6 million
The US, the world's worst-hit country, has so far recorded 30,777,338 cases and 555,403 deaths, according to the university.
Brazil’s Covid-19 cases have now surged past 13 million, with the country reporting 28,645 new infections and 1,319 deaths in the past 24 hours.
The South American nation's tally currently stands at 13,013,601 and fatalities at 332,752, the Health Ministry said on Monday.
The South American country is one of the global epicentres of the Covid-19 pandemic, suffering the world's second-worst outbreak in terms of both deaths and infections, only after the United States.
Besides, India which is the world's third worst-hit country in terms of cases and 4th in terms of deaths, has so far reported 12,589,067 cases and 165,101 deaths.
According to the university data, Bangladesh holds 33rd position in terms of Covid-19 cases.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh recorded more than 7,000 new coronavirus cases for the second day in a row Monday, as the country is struggling with the rising number of infections during its second wave.
Health authorities recorded 7,075 fresh Covid-19 cases in 24 hours till Monday morning. And with 52 new deaths during the period, the coronavirus fatalities rose to 9,318. The mortality rate, however, remained static at 1.45 percent.
Amid the worsening Covid situation, the government enforced a 7-day lockdown from Monday restricting people’s movement, shutting shops and markets and suspending operations of public transport (bus, train and domestic flights).
Bangladesh has so far recorded 644,439 coronavirus cases, according to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Vaccination drive
The government launched a countrywide vaccination campaign on February 7, with doses received from the Serum Institute of India.
Bangladesh inked an agreement with Serum in December last year for acquiring 30 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Serum is supposed to supply the doses between January and June this year – 5 million each month.
Safe Lifestyle in COVID-19 Lockdown: Do's, Don'ts, and Precautions
It seems coronavirus is not going away anytime soon from our life. And the second wave already hit Bangladesh. This time the new variations of COVID-19 are much more deadly than the last year. Hence Bangladeshi government was forced to call for another lockdown like the previous year. The government has issued new directives to implement during the lockdown period for the next seven days.
Staying at home without being accessible to the open air is not satisfying for some people, while it is enjoyable for some. But the ultimate truth is, 'lockdown is a necessity not a luxury.' Here we have explained a proper guideline to cope with the lockdown and stay home safely.
Read Coronavirus Home Quarantine: How to keep the Elderly People Engaged
Reliable Sources for COVID-19 Updates in Bangladesh
With the vast availability of smartphones along with the internet, access information circulates so quickly. Therefore, it becomes hard to tell which news is true. With the wrong or fake news, it is easy to get scared. But, getting the real news is highly essential.
Currently, government-issued circulations are the only trustworthy source to ger the real information about coronavirus in Bangladesh. You may visit corona.gov.bd to access the latest and reliable information. Besides, information from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) is also counted as reliable. However, if you want to get updates on other parts of the world, you can check the World Health Organization.
Read How to Handle Your Coronavirus Anxiety during Home Quarantine?
COVID-19 Lockdown Do's and Dont's
Do’s:
Stay home! This is the ultimate goal of lockdown. There is no point in giving lockdown if you don't stay at home. However, you can go outside for emergency purposes or grocery shopping, or even if you need to go to the office. Since there is no proper guideline about attending the office and most of the offices are open, you may go to the office by maintaining proper COVID-19 safety protocol.
Wash your hands frequently. This is the easiest process to slow down the spread and restrict passing to others or having passed it to you. However, you need to follow the proper handwashing guideline, and you found it here.
Also Read: Coronavirus Home Quarantine: How to keep the Elderly people engaged
Practice proper coughing and sneezing etiquette. Corona can easily spread through the affected person's coughing and sneezing. Whether you are affected or not, cough and sneeze on your elbow. In this way, your hands remain clean and eventually prevent from spreading germs. Practice proper social distancing. In other words, don't go out unnecessarily. Avoid going to any large gatherings. Nevertheless, if you go out in an emergency, maintain at least six feet distance from people.
Use the mask properly. We have a tendency not to use a mask. Even when we use a mask; we don't wear it properly. So, wear a mask properly as it can prevent the virus to a great extent. Use designated transport to commute to the office. According to the government-issued directives, government, non-government, courts, and private offices can provide transportation facilities to their employees. Those vehicles will maintain all the safety protocols, so you can use the official transportation to stay safe.
Read Essential Hygiene Practices to Prevent Coronavirus Contamination
Order food online. Since the restaurants are instructed to stay open for delivery or takeaway foods, you can order from home or even order and pick up from the restaurant quickly.
Don'ts:
Going out between 6 pm to 6 am is strictly prohibited unless there are any emergencies. However, it is suggested that you try to stay home regardless of the time. Even if you need to go out, you should not spend much time outside.
Avoid visiting the shopping malls. Although the shopping malls will remain close, shops can keep their wholesale part open. But it would be a good idea to avoid any kind of shops.
Avoid buying excessive suppliers. We have seen in last year that people tend to buy excessive supplies of foods, toiletries, etc., like there is no tomorrow. Avoid buying more supplies than you need and keep the items for others.
Read Pandemic Grocery List: Is Your Home Ready for Coronavirus Home Quarantine?
Don't panic. We may get panicked if our nearest or dearest ones get infected. In that case, you will need to stay calm and quiet. Besides, remember that COVID-19's severity depends on several factors. So, try to stay calm and take the necessary steps.
Read Where to Buy Grocery Online in Dhaka during Quarantine?
Tips to Stay Stress-Free During COVID-19 Lockdown
Getting stress during the lockdown is inevitable, even though you did everything to stay calm. You will need to keep yourself busy on something that you have an interest in. Besides, you can take some steps to make your lockdown stress-free.
Read How to Keep Your Children Occupied during Coronavirus
For health and nutrition
Adequate nutrition can certainly fight COVID-19. You may not get proper nutrition as you cannot go outside to shop according to your needs. Sometimes you may not get the proper supply in your nearest grocery store. Therefore, you can shop online and get your desired items.
However, it is mandatory to hygiene your online deliveries. For instance, you can wash your food before eating. Besides, you can clean and use disinfection spray to clean other stuff.
Read Masala Tea Health Benefits: How Can It Improve Your Immunity
For mental well-being
Taking care of your mental health is highly essential. For mental well-being, you can do yoga or meditation by maintaining a specific routine. Besides, being physically active is necessary, too, as it can reduce depression and can also reduce feelings of stress. Healthy eating is another way to boost mental well-being.
Read Coronavirus and Insomnia: How to Sleep Well during COVID19 Pandemic
For physical well-being
During the lockdown, we tend to sit idly, which invites some fats into our bodies. Therefore, physical activities are necessary to involve all of your muscles. Try to be active at home; you can do this by simply walking on the rooftop. You can do some home exercise too. If you are not sure which exercise you should do, there are plenty of apps for work out, and you can follow these to stay fit during the lockdown.
Read Online Pharmacy: Where to Buy Medicine in Dhaka during Coronavirus Home Quarantine
For self-development
Last year many people did online courses during the lockdown to develop themselves. You can do this too. You may search for the books that you are interested in and enrich yourself.
Besides, taking courses on different platforms such as Udemy, Coursera, Repto, etc. are the great way to develop skills.
Read Where to Find Online Courses during Coronavirus Home Quarantine
Final words
The Bangladesh government has imposed a seven-day lockdown so far. However, there is a great chance that it will be extended. So, the guidelines and the tips we have mentioned in the article will definitely help you to stay motivated during a long span of lockdown.
Read Rooftop Gardening: Way to Release Stress and Promote Health during Pandemic
Shop owners, workers stage demo protesting closure of markets
Shop owners and employees of New Market and adjacent shopping malls staged demonstrations for the second consecutive day on Monday protesting the closure of shopping malls during the 7-day lockdown enforced to contain the Covid-19 transmission.
The protesters first took to the streets on Sunday and vandalized a number of vehicles during the demonstrations. At one stage, they locked into clashes with police.
Also Read: Spectre of panic buying returns to kitchen markets ahead of lockdown
Owners and employees of shops of Dhaka New Super Market, Chandrima Super Market, Nur Mansion and several other shopping malls again brought out a procession in the New Market area at around 10:30am to protest the closure.
They demanded the government to allow the market owners keep those open for four hours every day during the shutdown.
The traders said they incurred huge losses last year when the pandemic broke out. They feared incurring losses again for the ongoing lockdown as Eid is near.
Additional law enforcers have been deployed in the area to keep the situation under control, SM Kaiyum, officer-in-charge of New Market police station, told UNB.
“We are speaking with some of the leaders of the traders. The situation is under control and we are alert to avoid any unexpected situation,” he said.
Also Read: Bangladesh set to enforce nationwide lockdown Monday
The country started a seven-day lockdown on Monday, aiming to contain the second wave of Covid-19.
All modes of public transports (road, river, rail and domestic flights) will remain suspended during the period, among other restrictions.
India records highest COVID-19 daily spike of over 100,000 cases
India recorded a single day spike of 103,558 COVID-19 cases on Monday, the highest so far, thus taking the total tally to 12,589,067.
With 478 deaths since Sunday morning, the death toll stood at 165,101.
There are still 741,830 active cases in the country, while 11,682,136 people have been discharged so far from hospitals after medical treatment.
Also Read: India records highest spike of daily COVID-19 cases this year
There was an increase of 50,233 active cases during the past 24 hours, out of which maximum cases were reported from the southwestern state of Maharashtra.
The number of daily active cases has been on the rise over the past few days, as another wave of COVID-19 looms large in India.
In January the number of daily cases in the country went down to below-10,000. As many as 9,102 new cases were reported on Jan. 25-26, which was the lowest in the previous 237 days. Prior to that the lowest number of daily new cases were 9,304 registered on June 4, 2020.
Also Read: India's COVID-19 tally rises to 11,599,130 with nearly 44,000 new cases .
India launched a nationwide vaccination drive on Jan. 16. So far 79,105,163 people have been vaccinated across the country.
Meanwhile, the federal government has ramped up COVID-19 testing facilities across the country, as over nearly 249 million tests have been conducted so far.
As many as 249,019,657 tests have been conducted till Sunday, out of which 893,749 tests were conducted on Sunday alone, said the latest data issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Monday.
The national capital Delhi, which has been one of the most COVID-19 affected places in the country, witnessed as many as 4,033 new cases and 21 deaths through Sunday.
As many as 11,081 people have died in the city due to COVID-19, confirmed the Delhi health department. Two types of vaccines are being administered to the people in India.
Global Covid-19 cases surge past 131 million
The global Covid-19 cases surpassed 131 million on Monday despite the rapid vaccination campaign across the world, according to the data compiled by Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
The JHU data shows that the global case count reached 131,203,647 as of Monday morning while the death toll from the virus mounted to 2,852,196.
Also Read: Global Covid cases hit 130.6 million
The confirmed cases of Covid-19 surpassed 30 million in the USA alone on March 25.
The global death toll from Covid-19 now stands at over 555,001.
On Sunday, Brazil registered 1,240 more deaths and 31,359 new cases, with the total fatalities reaching 331,433, its health ministry reported.
Registering a total of 12,984,956 infections, Brazil is currently one of the global epicenters of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the world's second-worst outbreak in terms of both deaths and infections, only after the United States.
Also Read: Covid-19: Bangladesh records 6000+ cases for 2nd straight day
As of Saturday, Brazil has vaccinated 24.5 million people against Covid-19. Among them, 19.18 million received the first dose while 5.32 million both doses.
India’s total tally reached 12,495,509 while the death toll 64,623.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh recorded 7,087 fresh Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours until Sunday morning which is the highest number of infections since the pandemic has hit the country.
Besides, the coronavirus fatalities rose to 9,266 with 53 new deaths during the period. The mortality rate fell to 1.45 on Sunday from Saturday’s 1.46 percent.
Coronavirus claimed 568 lives in January this year, 281 in February and 638 in March.
Bangladesh has so far recorded 637,364 coronavirus cases, according to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Bangladesh reported its first cases on March 8 last year and confirmed the first death from the virus 10 days later.
Countrywide lockdown
In an effort to prevent the transmission of Coronavirus and improve the current situation, the government has issued a gazette imposing restrictions on the movement of people and other activities for seven days from Monday.
The Cabinet Division issued the gazette on Sunday which will remain in force from 6 am on April 5 till 12 am on April 11.
Vaccination drive
The government launched a countrywide vaccination campaign on February 7 with doses received from the Serum Institute of India.
Bangladesh signed an agreement with Serum in December last year for 30 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Serum is supposed to supply the doses between January and June this year – 5 million each month.
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.
Homebound people flock at launch and bus terminals dreading ‘lockdown’
Homebound people have started swarming into cities' launch and bus terminals as the announcement of countrywide lockdown came on Saturday.
On Saturday morning, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said the government is set to announce a seven-day lockdown from Monday to stem the spread of coronavirus.
Since the declaration, people are dreading the suspension of all public transportation across the country and crowding at the bus and launch terminals.
Railways Minister MD Nurul Islam Sujan said passenger train services will remain suspended across the country during the countrywide lockdown period.
Joynal Abedin, joint director for Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) told UNB no announcement of suspending launch services has been made.
Also read: Govt to enforce 7-day lockdown from Monday: Quader
Yet dreading the upcoming suspension number of homebound people at the terminals has increased from this afternoon, said BIWTA’s joint director.
Sales manager of Hanif Paribahan bus service’s Kallyanpur counter, Nahid Hasan said bus counters were already packed with passengers as the bus owners were carrying 50 percent less passengers according to the Government’s order from Wednesday.
As the declaration of lockdown came today the crowd of passengers increased more, he said.
Unique bus service’s Gabtali counter man Sulaiman said, passengers are frightened about being stuck hence they are flocking at the ticket counters to leave the city within a day or two.
Covid-19 situation in Bangladesh
Amid an alarming surge in Covid-19 cases, Bangladesh recorded 5,683 fresh cases and 58 deaths in the last 24 hours until Saturday.
Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh sees 5,638 cases, 58 more deaths
The infection rate slightly fell to 23.15 percent from 23.28 percent on Friday when the country recorded 6,830 cases, the highest since the beginning of the pandemic.
Bangladesh has so far recorded 630,277 coronavirus cases, according to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
During the 24-hour period until Saturday morning, 2,364 patients recovered, taking the number of recoveries to 549,775.
Meanwhile, the fatalities rose to 9,213 with the new deaths.