Bangladesh celebrates Eid amid the shadow of Covid pandemic

Eid-Ul-Fitr was celebrated in Bangladesh in a sombre atmosphere amid the continuing shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. The main congregation of Eid in the capital city of Dhaka was held at the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque under government instructions to maintain the health guidelines in view of the corona pandemic. The first congregation was held at 7 a.m. followed by four more congregations in the day.

No Eid jamaat was held at the National Eidgah this year as per government instructions to control the spread of the virus.

Earlier, the government had issued instructions not to hold any outdoor programmes and Eid congregations and offer prayer at the local mosques.

The streets of Dhaka wore a deserted look on Friday as over 6 million people reportedly left the capital city for their villages and hometowns to celebrate Eid. According to the data revealed by mobile



phone operators in Bangladesh these people left Dhaka between May 4-11. 

The exodus took place despite the continuing lockdown and government instructions for people not to move during the Eid holidays. However, compared to earlier years, the number of people leaving Dhaka during Eid was substantially less.

Experts have expressed apprehension about a surge in COVID-19 cases following the mass migration of people without observing social distancing and wearing masks.

Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases in Bangladesh continued to show decline as 26 deaths and 848 fresh corona cases were reported in the country on Friday. The number of new infections in a day was at its lowest since March 8, when 845 cases were reported in a day. However, the daily sample positivity rate crossed over 10 percent on Friday after keeping below it for several days.