Bangladesh govt extends ongoing lockdown in country till May 5

The government of Bangladesh has decided to extend the ongoing lockdown in the country till May 5. State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain announced in Dhaka on Monday that the decision to extend the ongoing restrictions in the country has been taken in view of the global situation following the advice of the public health experts. 

He added that during the restriction, shops and malls will remain open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The current phase of ‘strict lockdown’ in Bangladesh is coming to an end on 28 April. Government had announced a countrywide lockdown on April 5 which was subsequently extended till 28 April in two phases. During the lockdown Public transport including railways, buses, waterways and flights have been suspended, though special flights to Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman,



Qatar, Singapore and China were allowed to cater to the needs of the expatriate workers and others. Offices in both the government and private sector are closed but factories are allowed to operate. Movement of people is also restricted.

In another order, the Ministry of Religious affairs has directed that Eid prayers will have to be offered in mosques instead of Eidgah or open spaces. In the mosques a maximum of 20 people including mosque officials can offer prayer at one time. 

Meanwhile, on Monday 97 people died due to Coronavirus infection in Bangladesh taking the death toll to 11,150. The country also reported 3306 fresh cases of COVID 19 infection on Monday. The infection positivity rate of the samples stood at 12.82 percent marking an improvement over the last week.