Rajshahi city is entering a total lockdown beginning on Friday afternoon with shops and transports closed for seven days as the authorities grapple with an outbreak of the coronavirus in the border areas.
Divisional Commissioner Humayun Kabir announced the lockdown on Thursday, 10 days after a committee of experts at the Directorate General of Health Services recommended locking down seven districts, including Rajshahi.
A day later, Health Minister Zahid Maleque warned that delaying total lockdowns in these districts will deepen the crisis.
Now, Rajshahi Medical College Hospital is so overwhelmed by the deadly surge of infection, it has to keep patients on the floor for treatment.
Kabir said they took the decision after analysing data of COVID-19 infections and deaths in Rajshahi district.
He said no vehicle will be allowed into Rajshahi from Chanpainawabganj, Natore and Naogaon districts and transports cannot leave the districts. But emergency vehicles are exempt from the lockdown.
The positivity rate of coronavirus tests has continued to rise at the new disease hotspot in Rajshahi. Of the 404 tests conducted at two labs in Rajshahi, 169, or 41.85 percent, came back positive on Wednesday.
In the daily count on Thursday, Rajshahi recorded 353 cases, the highest among the 64 districts.
(Source : Bdnews24)
