Bangladesh plans to extend the nationwide shutdown until May 15 as the novel coronavirus claimed five more lives in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of COVID-19 fatalities in the country to 175.
"The Prime Minister's Office is considering a proposal for an extended shutdown, a PMO spokesman told PTI on Saturday, hours after junior minister for public administration Forhad Hossain said his office suggested the extension until May 15 to prevent further spread of the virus.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina earlier ordered a comprehensive anti-COVID-19 campaign, amid steady rise of coronavirus cases in the country.
The government initially declared a general holiday on March 26 for 10 days. Later, that was gradually extended till April 25 as the country kept seeing a rise in the number of cases and deaths from COVID-19. Bangladesh later extended the nationwide shutdown until May 5.
Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said the tally of infections has risen to 8,790 after 552 more people tested positive from 5,827 samples in the last 24 hours - the highest number of tests in a single day.
DGHS Additional Director General Professor Nasima Sultana said that Bangladesh was witnessing a rapid rise of coronavirus cases since March 24 as 8,784 people tested positive for the virus since then. The number of infection was only 6 until March 23.
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She said the COVID-19 cases were found in 63 out of the country's 64 administrative districts, Bangladesh confirmed the first coronavirus death on March 18, ten days after the detection of the first three cases.
"Among the COVID-19-infected cases, nearly 75 per cent patients are taking treatment from their homes, and many of them are being cured every day after receiving treatment," Sultana said.
As of May 2, of the total fatalities, 95 deaths were recorded in Dhaka city and 39 in Narayanganj, the river port town on the outskirts of the capital.
Dhaka is the worst-affected area with 54.73 per cent of COVID-19 cases.
Sultana said the massive spread of the virus has prompted authorities to expand testing facilities across the country, engaging non-government organizations, universities, state-run research institutes and private hospitals.
Despite experts' warnings, Bangladesh has reopened hundreds of its garment factories this week after nearly one month of closures. The factory owners said they were operating with fewer workers than usual and following safety guidelines.
A spokesman of the Bangladesh Garments Manufactures and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said that some 850 among nearly 4,000 factories were reopened maintaining cautions, engaging a limited number of workers who live nearby.
BGMEA Secretary Mohammad Abdur Razzak claimed that the factories were complying with the health guidelines while the decision followed a government directive allowing companies which were under buyers' pressures to resume production.
A BGMEA business analyst said the factories were opened fearing that they might lose business to competitors like Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and India.
But a health ministry official preferring anonymity said the factories should have taken some more days for safety preparedness for their workers, who are at worst risk of infections.
There are nearly 4.1 million garment workers in the country.
Global lockdowns led the international apparel brands and retailers, who rely on the cheap labour that Bangladesh provides, to cancel or suspend an estimated USD 3.17 billion worth of orders in the country.