Bangladesh issues Covid-19 guidelines as cases surge

Bangladesh on Monday issued an 18-point directive, including reducing office attendance by 50% and restricting political and religious gatherings, as part of efforts to curb the surging pandemic

Bangladesh on Monday issued an 18-point directive, including reducing office attendance by 50 per cent and restricting political and religious gatherings, as part of efforts to curb the surging coronavirus pandemic, which claimed 45 lives in a day, the highest in seven months.

The health services said that 5,181 new coronavirus cases were detected from 8am Sunday to 8am Monday, taking the total number of infections to 6,00,895.

Forty five people died during the period, which is the highest since August last year when authorities recorded 47 deaths. The country has reported a total number of 8,949 deaths.

"Other than the emergency services, all government and private office, and industrial units will have to be run with 50 per cent workforce . . . in view of the situation," read an order issued by the Prime Minister's Office.

The order also directed mass-transport systems and restaurants to keep 50 per cent seats vacant and ban transport services in high-risk areas in required cases and restrict all religious, social, political and other gatherings.

"The current infection rate is 18.38 per cent, while it was 2.30 per cent just on February 8 this year," a health ministry spokesman told PTI.

Health Minister Zahid Maleque said his office advised the government to impose lockdowns in areas where the transmission rate was high while "directions in this regard are expected in a day or two".

Directorate General of Health Services' (DGHS) Additional Director General Sabrina Flora said health officials noticed higher transmission of COVID-19 in six districts on March 13, while the pandemic was surging in 20 districts just a week later on March 20, and in 29 districts by March 24.

This means COVID-19 is spreading fast across the country, and there is no alternative to following health rules to break the transmission chain, she said.

The DGHS has identified central Dhaka, southeastern Chattogram and northwestern Rajshahi with higher transmission areas.

Till March 28, Bangladesh has administered the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine to 52,63,248 people, health officials said.