Bangladesh gears up for a week of national lockdown

On Saturday, Bangladeshi government announced for a 7-day countrywide lockdown effective from April 5th in order to limit the spread of the new wave of Covid-19 which had led to registration record-breaking number positive cases.

In a routine media briefing, Awami League General Secretary, ObaidulQuader made the announcement regarding the weeklong lockdown according to the Dhaka Tribune.Quader encouraged people to follow all health and safety protocols and to use face masks to protect themselves from Covid-19. He also added that the government had already made the requisite preparations to deal with the pandemic's second wave.

State Minister for Public Administration, Farhad Hossain said, “Every office and court will be closed during this lockdown but industries and mills will continue their operation on rotation.” When asked for the reason industries would not be closed, he explained, “If we close the mills then the workers may have to leave their workstations and head for home.”

Farhad also confirmed that organisations that emergency service institutions would remain open throughout the lockdown, and that more information on the lockdown would be released soon.

The lockdown decision comes following the country registering 6,830 infections on Friday, 6,469 on Thursday, 5,358 on Wednesday, 5,042 on Tuesday and 5,181 on Monday. Taking the grand total of positive cases to 624,594 and 9,155 casualties.

Bangladesh's Prime Minister's Office had released an 18-point directive on Monday, which informed of a ban on all public gatherings in Covid-19 hotspot areas.